To my three best friends,

College years are kind of like dog years. The one year we have spent together feels like seven. Actually, scratch that, it feels like my whole life. It is clear that God handpicked the four of us for each other. How do I know this? Let me explain.

High school sucked. It seemed that every time I developed a close friendship with someone, it would either fizzle out or that friend would drift toward the “popular” crowd: a party-crazed and drug-filled place that I didn’t want to be. I was threatened, bullied, gossiped about and stabbed in the back, all because I stood up for my principles. I was certain that college would be no better. Clearly, I was never destined to have a close female friendship. And I was okay with that. I had a long-term boyfriend and a loving family; I thought that was all I needed. I planned to get in to college, graduate in three years, marry my high school sweetheart and never look back. While these plans are still more or less the same, the three of you beautiful women have given me a reason to savor these college years.

You see, I had given up. And only after I gave up on finding genuine friends on my own did God place three incredible ones right in front of me. We fit together like puzzle pieces.

I want you to know that I love you and trust you in a way that I never have before in any friendship. You are intelligent, hilarious, honest and caring. I never feel that I need to keep things bottled inside or be someone I’m not. That is an incredibly liberating feeling.

Every moment together is an adventure. Every midnight Sheetz run, every game of Dutch Blitz, every late-night intervention session, every theological discussion in the Union, every single moment is worth it. In his 'Confessions,' St. Augustine once said about his closest friendship, “Our souls are kindled into a blaze and melted and fused together as one.” I can’t think of a better way to describe what God is doing in our lives.

I have learned so much from the three of you in such a short time. I have learned how to love God with my entire being. I have learned how to appreciate what I’ve been blessed with. I have learned to get to know someone first, then judge later. I have learned that, even if you are a type-A honors student, you can still sacrifice homework time to live in the moment. I have learned that you should drop everything to go with your friends to a political rally, even when all you do is stand in line and never get in. Most importantly, I have learned that sometimes you need to say “screw it” and get up on that stage and sing Christmas karaoke in front of the school.

Sometimes the four of us bicker, of course. When you spend every day with the same people, disagreements are sure to arise. But, instead of talking behind each others’ backs, we work things out. What we have is too valuable to be torn apart by a misunderstood comment or a difference in denomination or a new boy.

My friends, no matter where our futures take us, I pray that we fight for our friendship. I pray that time only strengthens our bond. Thank you for giving me a friendship I’m afraid to lose. As Jesus instructs us, “what God has joined together, let no one separate.”

I love you three with all my heart,

Alicia