My best friend and I have known each other for eight long, incredible, fun-filled years. She is the longest relationship I have ever had, and has been my number one person since the day we met. She got me through the hard times; high school, parents, struggling to find myself, heartache, rebellion, fashion disasters, and so much more. My mother talks to her like a daughter and I ask how her brother and sister are doing in school. We went to separate high schools but talked on the phone every day and that only made our friendship stronger. Then we went to college with 1,000 miles in between us and it was harder to keep in touch. I'm sad that I don't get to go have fun with her at parties, that I can't be there to hug her when she has a bad day, that we don't get to have random adventures, and that we don't talk as much as we used to.

But even though I can't be with her for those things, I am happy because someone else can. Her boyfriend.

At first I was threatened by him. I was scared to death that he was going to replace me in her life and she would no longer need me. I was worried that they were moving too fast and that he would end up breaking her heart and she would never love again. I had known her for eight years and he had only known her for six months. They were already saying "I love you" and were meeting each others' families. It was a struggle for me tell her I was happy for her when I wasn't fully sure if I was.

When I met him over winter break it was a mixture of emotions of wanting to establish my dominance around him (letting him know I've been the number one person in her life a lot longer than he has), and wanting to give my best friend my approval of this man she is so proud of. He was kind, he was fun, and he was clearly head over heels for her. I was (and still am) a little skeptical of him and his intentions, but I know that he makes her happy.

I love my best friend's boyfriend because he loves her just as much as I love her. I know this because she talks about him the way we talk about each other. When I was younger I always wondered how our boyfriends would fit into the dynamic of our lives, or if it was even possible, but thanks to my best friend's boyfriend I know it is. He is there to hold her when she's sad, support her when she's happy, and tell her all the right things to let her know she's not crazy. He can be there when I can't. He's not there to replace me, but to simply love my best friend.

Thank you, Phil, for keeping the most important person to me safe and happy. Thank you for learning the crazy ways to calm her down when she's upset, or confused, (or acting crazy). Thank you for finding her, and standing by her, and not breaking her trust.

I love you because you love her.