Part of being a senior and graduating is moving on. I don’t think you realize how hard goodbyes are going to be until you realize you have 20 days left with your friends. Here’s what I wish I could say to each friend I’m leaving and everything I hope they’ll know as they move on as well.

Dear Best Friend, Sister, Love, Supporter, and my Other Half,

Wow. What a time we have had together. I’ll never forget every car ride, song we belted, Sonic we ate, movies we sniffled through and pretended we could hold it together, and times we broke down and cried. I never thought of us being apart. I knew we were graduating, I knew we weren’t going to the same school, and yet I didn’t know how hard this goodbye was going to be. I know, I know, it’s not actually goodbye…but you’ll no longer be a car ride away. I’ll have to wait until Christmas, holidays, and breaks to see someone I’ve seen every week, or even every day.

I wish I could stop time. I wish I could pack you in my suitcase and convince you to just come to college with me instead of where you’ll be going instead. I wish everything would just stop moving and I could grab your hand in mine and just hold on tight because I know it would be okay as long as you are there with me. But I can’t. And as much as I want to, I know I shouldn’t. What lies before you is incredible. You are about to change the world…I wholeheartedly believe it because you have undeniably changed me.

So. Here’s what I want you to know.

You are unstoppable. To any person who has ever made or will make you doubt that—leave them behind. Anyone who cannot see your worth, is not worthy of you.

No boy will ever be good enough… I’m sorry but it’s true. You deserve better than the best, I feel like even a prince may be beneath you. Just know—you are whole and wonderful on your own, no guy completes you, prince or not. (And I’m not above coming home from college and kicking someone's butt should they break your heart, and you know I don’t joke about that).

You are enough. You are beautifully and fearfully made. You are loved beyond what you could ever imagine. The days you feel like a failure, the days you feel alone, the days you think what you’re doing isn’t important—know you are enough. You are enough for me, you are enough for your family, you are enough for the one who created the universe—I’d say it a million times again that you ARE enough.

And lastly dear friend, my confidant, my secret keeper I have to say—thank you.

There’s over seven BILLION people in the world and you are MY friend. There are seven billion people, and yet I don’t care, because I don’t need seven billion, I’ve just needed you.

Thank you for drying my tears, supporting me, loving me, and believing in me when I didn’t believe in myself. There are not enough words in the English language to describe the love and gratefulness I have in my heart for you.

There will always be a piece of you in my heart, regardless of distance.

So when it happens, when I leave you, when school or life takes us to different sides of the country, know I will always love you best friend. I know you’ll make new friends, I know our lives will look different, and I know you’ll grow and move and change without me. However, I know the fact that I’m in tears writing this, I’m in tears over leaving you, means that I can truly believe it is not a real goodbye. Don’t forget to call.

All my love,

Your Number One Fan, the One Who Loves You Most, your Best Friend.