How incredible is it to have someone in your life that isn't blood related to love you unconditionally? This weekend, I had the opportunity to visit my best friend in Nashville, Tennessee, where she goes to school. Let me tell you, I don't know if I have ever been more excited for anything in the world than this trip. I found out I was going a little over a month ago and have had a countdown on my phone with a picture of us as a background.

Think about your best friend for a minute. Maybe find a picture of the two of you, think of a memory, and what happens? A smile appears. Whether you have one best friend or a ton, just the fact that you have someone in your life you've spent so many days with is pretty awesome!

To show how thankful I am for my best friend, I'm dedicating this article to her. Another way was to send a letter. Whatever it may be, you know you're thankful for your best friend because they've shaped you into the person you are today. Here are just a few of the thousands of reasons I'm thankful for my best friend.

She loves me and I love her. And that is so amazing!

But really, there is something sort of magical knowing that there is a person out there who wants to spend time with you always.

She doesn't mind when I hug her for long amounts of times.

I love hugs. Like, I love hugs. So having someone in my life who also likes to hug is enough of something to be thankful for.

She's always there for me to talk about the cute boy I've been in love with coming to my sister's wedding and waiting for me outside and then celebrating my sixteenth birthday...

Or at least she's there for me to dream about this and watch "Sixteen Candles" and other '80s movies with.

She makes me feel cool even when I know I'm not.

I may have the worst dance moves in the history of the world, but when I'm dancing side by side with my best friend, I feel like the coolest person at the club.

Knowing this person will be the one next to you on your wedding day.

She will be there right beside me. When I'm tweaking out over an ice cream stain I will surely get on my wedding dress, my best friend will be by my side every step of the way.

She can make me laugh in any and every situation.

There are so many times where all I want to do is get out my boxing gloves and go at a bag, but I also know that laughter is the best medicine, and oh how important laughing is. Having a best friend is having someone who makes you laugh constantly, whether or not they're saying something funny. It is a person who has filled you with so much joy that when you think about them, giggles fill the inside of you.

She makes me smile.

It is really just as simple as that. She just makes me smile, which is pretty incredible!

We don't even need words to communicate most of the time. One look says it all.

It's really nice when you're in a certain situation and all you have to do is look over your shoulder and know that your best friend understands everything going on in your head at that exact moment.

We remember to always have fun.

(Note: This was drawn going into freshman year ofhigh school by me.)

Who says you're too old to draw with chalk? Or that you're too old to have walkie-talkies? All I know is, having fun is so important, and I never forget about it when I'm with my best friend.

She's helped me get through some of life's hardest obstacles, a.k.a. high school.

Somehow, I'm in college today, and I know that is only possible because of the love and support I had from my best friend. I would not be who I am without her, and there's no way I would have ever gotten through certain obstacles in my life without her.

I'm thankful for all the moments spent together.

It's safe to say this past weekend was incredible. Every moment with your best friend is the greatest gift you will ever be given. I see my best friend's talent as she belts out her original songs strumming along on the guitar in a park in downtown Nashville, and a surge of pride runs through my bones and my heart swells. I laugh as we watch "Bob's Burgers," I cry as we talk about everything going on in our lives, and I smile as I realize that I am the luckiest person in the entire world.

I'm so thankful for the person you are and the person you've helped me become.