To my childhood best friends,

We have been through everything together, and when I say everything, I mean EVERYTHING! Break-ups, boy troubles, fights, school dances, sports, parties, travelling, bonfires, movies, concerts, surgeries (broken bones), amusement parks/fairs, sporting events and graduation. In elementary school, we were friends with everyone, but as we got older through junior high, everyone started to gather in their own little cliques. It wasn’t until high school that I knew you would be my friends for life, and you soon became my family.

In high school, we started to share everything together. We shared all of our secrets, talked about all our crushes, school, sports, and all of our problems. We had even came up with nicknames for our crushes, such as nickel, dime, penny, and quarter, which allowed us to talk right in front of them without them knowing. We had inside jokes that we only knew about and people just thought we were crazy talking. Lunch time for most people was to play basketball and eat, but we were always singing our favorite songs that we would then get stuck in our heads for days, like “Must Be Doing Something Right” by Billy Currington or "Why Don't We Just Dance" by Josh Turner. Sometimes we would even say random pick-up lines to just about anyone we walked by in the hallway, which most of the time got us weird looks. We would purposely take the same elective courses just to have extra time together, then make excuses that we needed study or help one another out to just find time to hang out with one another. We always knew when we were spending time together that we would be making memories and sharing laughs. Let’s be honest, we have more photos together than all of our family pictures combined.

Once we graduated from high school, everyone said we'd going our separate ways off to college and our friendships wouldn’t last; that’s how it always happens, right? For some time, we were off growing up, doing our own thing, growing as individuals, and we all lost touch a little. Thanksgiving came around and we hung out in our group, and it was like nothing changed between us. We were talking about college, everything we have learned, and all our new friends we had made and so on. We realized that no matter what, we will still be there for one another. We still have our annual Christmas party, and we still hang out as much as possible— whether it is going to Indians game, country concerts, bonfires by the lake, or just dinner and a movie. When we would reunite, it would be like nothing had changed.

Now it hasn’t been all amazing times with us. There have been times we have gotten into arguments and fights bad enough that we haven’t spoken for weeks or even months. In those times, I am sure we thought we would never come back from it or be friends again. But all together, it just made our bond stronger, and made us appreciate our friendship even more.

Thank you for always being there for me when I hit rock bottom, but also when I have everything going for me. Thank you for dealing with the crazy hot mess of a person I can be and always being my shoulder to cry on. Thank you for listening to me jam out in the car when we all know I am tone-deaf. Thank you for always giving me your honest opinion and taking my bluntness with no offense. Thank you for laughing when I think I am being funny but in all reality I am not. Thank you for all the memories and inside jokes we have made along the way, and many more to be made. Thank you for letting me vent to you about anything and everything. Most of all, thank you for being my people—the ones I can call family.

Everything we have been through, including living 500 miles away, has brought us closer. I won’t say there haven’t been times that we have never argued or got into fights, but at the end of the road, it made our relationships between one another stronger. We may not know every little detail of each other’s lives at every second of the day, or we may not talk for days or weeks or know what the other one is going through, but I know when I need you, that you will be there. No matter where this life takes us, I know I will have all of you by my side. I couldn’t be more grateful to have you in my life.

Love,

Your Best Friend