There are a multitude of things in life that you don't plan for. Some of them are good, some of them are bad, but in the end most of us come out stronger on the other side of unexpected events. I could say this about myself, but the truth is that my life-changing surprise never went away, and I'm thankful for her every day.

It was on the first day of kindergarten that I met my best friend, roughly 16 and a half years ago. We wore the same shirt, with pink and orange stripes and a pocket on the front. That wasn't what made her particularly best friend worthy, however. It was the fact that she made me feel better when I cried; a five year old with a stupid case of separation anxiety and another with a huge heart.

Our childhoods were so deeply interwoven. As we became friends, so did our families. We went to the same school, daycare, church… We spent all of our time at each other's houses. Every moment of my life was a new adventure with her.

Somewhere along the line I got bumped up a grade, because I was “gifted” in the terms of elementary schoolers. Being in a different grade than my best friend was weird, but we were at the same school so everything was fine. When i was going into 5th grade and she into 4th, we switched schools to a brand new school opening closer to our houses. As fate would have it, at this school combined 4th and 5th graders into the same classes. Nothing could keep us apart.

My time at that school marked some of the best years. My best friend lived within walking distance of the school, so my mom would drop me off in the morning when she went to work and we’d walk to school together, then walk home and hang out until she got off work. Since we’d finally reached the age where we didn’t need to go to daycare anymore, I spent every waking minute I couldn’t be at home at her house. It was my second home.

My summers as a child, a teenager, and arguably still now are marked by the things I did with her. There was always something more crazy and more interesting to one-up the thing we’d done the day before. Swimming in the lake across the street, riding our bikes to the library, jumping in rivers, going to the mountains… So long as it was together, it was the best. Of course, we couldn’t always be together. I would be going to high school a year before her, and we didn’t end up going to the same high school.

For the first time ever, we were apart. It was one of the hardest things for me, to go from being with her near 24/7 to having to actually be apart. Our friendship changed, but of course we were always there for each other, always together. We had the kind of friendship that was always present no matter what else changed around it. The kind of friendship that lasts.

She’s the kind of person that’s been with me through everything. All of my highs and all of my lows. Time apart and time together. I can show up at her house any time of day and she’ll be there for me. She’s my home away from home. Even when that home is very far away.

As I type this I sit in a car hundreds of miles away from our childhood homes, helping my best friend move into her new apartment and her future. This is the last week I'll get to see her in person for almost six months, and everything is new and scary and different. Everything is going to have to change, but I know for a fact that we'll still be fine. We'll be best friends through it all. How do i know this?

Well, i just happen to be best friends with the most loving and compassionate person I’ve ever met. She is the person who keeps my crazy in check. She is there for me in the end when no one else is. She is more talented and passionate than most people you will ever meet. She has dreams and she chases them no matter what. We are so incredibly similar yet so wildly different. I can’t imagine my life without her.

On that first day of kindergarten, I made a best friend. What I didn’t expect was to sit here 16 ½ years later, writing an article about the girl who became a sister to me. I’ll miss you while you’re away, Sam, but keep a place ready for me. I’ll be down to meet you as soon as I can. There’s nothing in this world that can keep us apart.