Dear Best Friend,

I guess the best way to begin this would be to say that I miss and love you so much. We have had the most difficult friendship I have ever come across, but somehow we have managed to make it these 12 years with no cracks.

Everyone says the best friendship is like having another sister and having to deal with the arguments that come with it, but with us, this was never the case. From playdates every day when in Walton, to not seeing each other for the past four years, I can truthfully say we have never argued and have always supported each other through anything and everything.

It's unfathomable to think that two little 8-year-old girls had such determination to maintain a friendship created in kindergarten. When you first moved to a different town, we kept in touch through email; talking about our Webkinz, what server to go on when we went on Club Penguin, and when we would see each other next.

Whenever we saw each other we would have the best time, as though we never left each other the previous time. Whether it was making movies with obnoxious effects on Photo Booth or scaring a lady in Big Lots with a rubber rat to the point where she started throwing stuff at us, there has never been a dull moment with you.

Fast-forward a few years to the end of 8th grade/beginning of high school and you are all the way across the country. At first, I was scared that we reached the end of our forever friendship. We would no longer see each other every week and I soon learned that we would not even see each other every year.

But to us, this was no challenge. We never forgot about each other. In fact, you never stopped being a part of my everyday life. Everyone here knows about my 'best friend in Arizona' (and I think it's pretty clear no one's taking your place).

(Always forget you are three hours behind, oops!)

Going through high school and experiencing some of the best moments in my life, I've always thought to myself, "wow, I wish my best friend was here to experience this with me." Seeing people spend all of their high school years with their best friend is something that will always make me emotional.

Though I have friends here, no one will ever be you. We are forced to share our experiences through technology, but with the way you tell your stories, it feels as though I experienced it all with you.

(This excitement though..)

Though you're 2,376 miles away, you're always by my side. Talking about our futures, when we will see each other after four years of trying, living the exact same life on opposite sides of the country, and supporting each other on every decision we make in our relationships with our boys are things I can always count on to remind me that this really is a forever friendship. We have spent our entire lives making sure that no matter how far apart we are, that we are inseparable.

(Literally, the same problems on opposite sides of the country.)

Thank you, kindergarten us, for both sharing the same spot under the easel in Mrs. Schoch's class for nap time. Thank you, second grade us, for making email accounts solely to talk to each other when you moved away.

Thank you, 8th grade us, for remembering that distance is but a measurement of how far two things are apart and not the strength of friendship. Thank you, my best friend, for never leaving my side.

How lucky I must be to know someone as amazing as you.

I miss you and I love you.

Love,

Your Best Friend