Oh, how difficult it is to write an article about your best friend. You have so much to say, so many different stories to tell, all while trying to communicate a sort of wild admiration. You want it to be hilarious while at the same time being an article that comes at least a little bit close to doing them justice.

My best friend's name is Jakob. He is 20 years old and six feet tall. He has a heart as big as the ocean and a contrastingly smart mouth to go with it. He has a love for adrenaline that is never quite fulfilled and a protective nature that radiates security. To live alongside him is to know comfort. Jakob is empathetic in a way that most people wish they could be. He feels the hurt of others whether he is trying to or not and does his absolute best to make everyone around him feel at home.

Jakob and I started dating on April 7, 2016. I had asked him to hang out, assuming it was just as friends because I had never been on a date in my whole life and didn't even know how those things worked. It was when he offered to come pick me up that I started getting a little nervous. We went to dinner and neither of us made any indication of said meal being a date.

I could hardly eat (which is HIGHLY unlike me) and kept texting my best friend underneath the table to see what she would make of all of this. She told me that there was only one way to tell if this was an actual date- see if he pays for your food.

Spoiler alert- he paid for my food. We went on to get ice cream later that night and I still had myself convinced that there was no way that it was a date and that he was just being nice to me. Well, I'm sort of an impatient person; and by sort of I mean, I am the most impatient person. I couldn't wait until after he dropped me off to send a series of alluring yet questioning texts. This was mostly because I did not know how to be alluring (and still truly don't) so I figured out a way to clear this whole thing up and finally, once and for all know if this was a real date or not.

We pulled into my driveway and I asked him. I really, seriously, painfully, couldn't-make-this-up-if-I-tried, asked him. He said yes. I swear to you I almost cried right there in his Kia Sorento.

Getting to know Jakob these past two years has been learning that you really can fall more in love with someone each day. He is the type of gentleman to always walk on the edge of the sidewalk that faces the road. He feels inadequate if I open my own door to anywhere before he can. He lets me take all of his t-shirts even if they are his most favorite ones.

He won't leave my side at any family gatherings because he knows I get anxious in big crowds. He is forever making sure I don't forget to take whatever antibiotic I'm on for the month because he doesn't hate me like my tonsils do.

He inspires me to know the stories of the bible better. He inspires me to not be afraid in front of audiences when I have to do any kind of public speaking. Most importantly, he inspires me to be a really kick-butt sibling.

To know Jakob is to know joy. There aren't enough words in the world to adequately communicate the type of person, brother, son, Christian, and boyfriend that he is. Basically what I'm trying to say is- I'm gonna keep him around for a while. I don't know where I'd be without him.