Dear best friend,

Well, here we are again. We’ve come again to that time of year where you are leaving and I am staying. You’re going off to another city, to another home, to another school, and I am staying here at home and at the school here. I am so excited for you. I know how much you love where you are, and I know how wonderful of a place it is.

The summer is over and we are parting ways again. I am so grateful for these three months where we were reunited. I enjoyed our road trips, our late-night ice cream runs and our hours of laughing and talking. I’ll always remember our trip to the Halsey concert, my first real concert that wasn’t “American Idol” or “The Cheetah Girls,” and how much fun it was listening to her music in the car and what a beautiful, wonderful concert it was. I’ll remember the day or two before that, when we swam in your pool and both got horribly sunburned, and then the game night we had later that night. My most permanent memory is probably my favorite: getting tattoos together, my most meaningful tattoo, something I’m so glad I shared with you.

I am so thankful for you. I am so thankful for the love and friendship you have given me. These last few years haven’t been easy for either of us, but in these last few years we have grown so close. Our friendship is probably one of the healthiest, most fulfilling I have ever had. You bring out the best in me and make me want to be a good friend to you and to others. I so admire your strength, your intelligence, your creativity. I’m so thankful to have someone like you who will always be there for me and will always be interested in my life.

I am so excited for you this year; I know it’ll be good to you. It’ll be hard. College is pretty terrible in that way, but it’ll also be so much fun. I can’t wait to hear all about your classes, the clubs you're in, your adventures with your roommates and friends. I can’t wait to actually come and visit you this year (which I will, promise) and see the city that you are calling home for so much of the year. Above all, I can’t wait for how our friendship will continue to grow even when we’re not together. I’m looking forward to the holidays where we’ll get to pick up right where we left off, to the breaks and the adventures we’ll have together (Chicago! Hamilton!).

Thank you for being such an amazing person and the best friend I can ask for. Good luck, and safe travels, my dear friend.