She was your friend when you were afraid of the dark and when you thought multi-colored braces bands were a great idea.

1. You have the most embarrassing pictures together.

After almost two decades spending every holiday, family vacation, the first day of school, summer, and countless other moments together, there are infinite pictures of you two. TBTs on Instagram are almost exclusively with her, and every one of your followers probably knows you guys have been friends forever. As cute as you two were, you desperately hope that the potty training picture never makes its social media debut (seriously why do parents photograph these things?).

2. Bonding over your crazy family.

One of the most amazing parts of being related to your best friend is that they can’t feel awkward with your family because they’re part of it. From the eye rolls across the table when grandma starts the story she tells every holiday, to the please say we’re adopted looks when your uncle gets halfway through a story that would make anyone else red with embarrassment, you know you are lucky to have someone that truly understands how special your family is to share these moments with

3. Some stories become funnier over time.

“You had to be there,” takes on a new meaning when trying to explain to people why you’re hysterically laughing while talking about when one of you dared the other to jump naked in the pool. Years after family vacations, you two look back and laugh when you realize you spent the whole week holed up in the hotel room playing Hungry Hungry Hippos, or at the time when you wouldn’t go in the backyard for a month after your other cousin had you convinced that there was a ravaged homeless man eating squirrels back there.

4. Half the time people don’t know you are related.

You receive dumbfounded looks when people that are friends with both of you realize you’re related. “You mean you’re cousins… and best friends?” Yes. Yes, that is exactly it.

5. There is too much history to not be friends.

She was your friend when you were afraid of the dark and when you thought multi-colored braces bands were a great idea. She hugged you when your fourth-grade crush didn’t give you a valentine and again when your first love broke your heart. She texted you back on your first phone and her house was the first place you drove when you got your license. You’ve undoubtedly talked about living next door to each other and raising your families together, even if neither of you has a boyfriend.

6. You feel like the luckiest person in the world to have her.

Odds are you have grown apart from friends in your life, but you have never doubted your friendship with her. Odds are all of your roommates not only know her but also ask how she is and actually feel like they know her based on how much you talk about her. Even if you go to college in different states, you know your friendship will never fade. After all, you know anyone crazy enough to have stuck around this long is in it for life.