Dear High School Best Friends,

Thank you, for everything. I miss you a lot, but I guess that just means that I made good friends. Friends that will be there forever. It’s hard to be away from you 3 months at a time, but something that makes it a little bit easier is the bond we share.

During senior year, as we were getting into colleges, we were all so happy for each other. But I sometimes failed to remember how real it was that we wouldn't be seeing each other every day. No more squeezing too many of us into a car, jamming to one of our many anthems, meeting up at the diner to recollect our nights, going on last minute adventures or even just sitting around someone’s dining room table. All that mattered was that we were together and we always managed to make it a great time and amazing memory.

No matter the distance, your high school friends are always there for you. Your hometown will always be the place you grew up in and where you met these special people. When you come home from college, this place and these people will be there with you. These may be the people that were with you from the first day of freshman year or even the first day of preschool or friends you met along the way. They were with you for every phase, all of the highs and all of the lows, when you needed someone to cry with, laugh with and everything in between.

They were with you when your heart was happy, when your heart was broken, when you got into college, or when you get rejected, when you were deciding where to enroll, when you walked across the stage at graduation and through the many breakdowns you may have had before leaving for school. But don’t worry so much, because they’re still with you now.

None of these things will be erased when you go to college and when you come back home for your break your friends will be there to hear about your new memories and to talk about the old. Don’t forget to thank these people and remember that they aren't going anywhere.

Nobody ever told me how real and how hard it would be to be away from the girls I spent every day with. The real truth is, it sucks. However they are never farther than a phone call away and it feels good knowing they will always be there for you.

So, when you’re saying a temporary goodbye to your best friends for a few months at the end of August, do something you love to do one last time before you leave, give them a big squeeze, shed a few tears, share some laughs and thank them. For everything.

And don’t ever forget that no matter the distance or time apart, you’ll always have them near and dear to your heart. Home is the special bond you share with them and that’s never going to leave.