Last week my friend Julia Kochman asked me to write an article about her. She had read a previous article I had written about my younger brother and was feeling unloved. So, here it goes.

Julia has been my close friend and pseudo-cousin for as long as I can remember. When we were younger we looked pretty similar and spent most of our time trying to dress as similarly as possible and convince total strangers that we were cousins or sisters. I am not sure why we thought this was a good use of our time. They were strangers and had no reason not to believe us.

Growing up Julia and her brother Jordan were the cousins my brother Aaron and I always wanted. The four of us had sleepovers, rode bikes and took family vacations to the beach. They enjoyed (and still enjoy) teasing me for being so short and I enjoyed finding tiny places they could not reach during hide and go seek.

As amazing as our childhood together was, this is not an article about that. This is about Julia, an incredible individual. She is thoughtful, hilarious and the greatest friend a person could ask for. I can always count on her to cheer me up when I am having a bad day or come with me on a spontaneous adventure. As she as grown up she has become an incredible force to be reckoned with. Julia is one of the only people I know who is both an impressive athlete and remarkably clumsy.

Ultimately I want to thank you Julia for 18 (Happy Birthday btw) years of friendship. You really are my family and I do not know what I would do without you.