Being away from you guys is not easy by any means, but knowing you will always be there helps get me by.

I do not know what I did to deserve you guys, in fact, I am pretty certain I don’t, but I thank my lucky stars every day that I have you all.

I always hear people say how they found their best friends in college and I have noticed how sometimes their friends from home become an afterthought. Believe me, I have made some of the most incredible friends during my time at school, but I am so appreciative of the people I get to go home to every break.

You guys have been there from the start and we have memories that go back for years upon years. You have loved me through my awkward stages and laughed with me once we outgrew them. We have been together through every breakup, high school dance, family death, bad day, punishment and any other endeavor you could think of. We have been caught getting into trouble by our parents and have gotten away with our teenage rebellion even more.

Whether it be pulling all-nighters doing homework, taking spontaneous road trips, or just trying to find fun in our small little town we always manage to make life an adventure.

Even when we are hundreds of miles apart, I know that in an instant you guys would be here if it really came down to it, and vice versa.

Thank you for picking up the phone when I call, no matter what hour of the night, and for the times we are reunited, making it feel like we were never apart. How lucky I am that whether I am at school or at home, it is always so hard to leave.

In my greatest times of uncertainty, you always manage to reassure me. You have made me believe that I can excel at anything I strive toward for as long as I can remember. Every day you have pushed to me be the best person I can be, and have shown me that it is okay to get knocked down, as long as I get back up again. Because of you guys, I am able to.

Even better than all of that is when you guys tell me when to pull my head out of the clouds and get back to reality. You guys call me out on my BS and remind me that change does not come from complaining, it comes from taking action. That it is not possible to do well in a course without studying, that people cannot magically read my mind when I am upset (only you guys can), and you remind me when I need to stop worrying so much.

I have never met a hungrier, funnier, more savage group of people, and I could not have it any other way.

I miss you all every single day, but I am so proud of who we are all becoming even while we are apart. I know we are all in different parts of our crazy lives right now, but you guys will always remain as a constant in this wild storm.

I can’t wait until I am home, realistically speaking I know you guys will be in my family room waiting for me.