Dear best friend,

I’d like to start this off by saying the obvious. I love you. A whole lot. I love you more than stuffed crust pepperoni pizza with olives. I love you more than Beyoncé’s new album. And let’s get real, I love you more than Kanye loves Kanye. You are always there for me whenever I need you and you make me laugh like no other. You understand me in a way not many people can and you make me a better person. You really have helped shape me into the person I am today so I guess what I am trying to say is thank you. For what exactly? Allow me…

Thank you for letting me call your mom by her first name. It makes me feel like an adult. Thank you for telling me things about yourself that are personal and thank you for trusting me enough to keep them private. Thank you for never judging me when I do stupid things and also thank you for always cheering me on when I do non-stupid things. Sometimes, when I can’t believe in my own self, you swoop right in and believe in me for me. You support me more than my bra. So thanks for that, too.

Thank you for always letting me rant to you about anything. Thank you for dropping everything to make me happy. You’re probably one of the few people who does this for me religiously. Thank you for that time you tried to play dermatologist and pop the pimple on my butt. And thank you for reassuring me that my boobs look just fine. Thank you for the cuddles and the never ending jokes and laughter and thank you for never fighting me when I want to be the little spoon. Thank you for dancing with me always and for sharing your love of books with me. Thank you for letting me spoil you, whether it’s a cute picnic or a "Star Wars" adult coloring book. Most importantly, thank you for being vegetarian so that I could eat all the bacon. I know you did it just for that reason.

Thank you for the deep conversations and thank you for the silly ones too. Thank you for always pushing me to be a better version of myself. Thank you for celebrating my successes and thank you for trying to pick me back up when I fail. You are my biggest motivator and only want what is best for me. Thank you for that. Thank you for sending me the ugliest selfies of yourself on Snapchat. They make me so happy. Thank you for keeping our streak and I’m sorry that I lost it after 142 days. Thank you for forgiving me. Thank you for never letting our differences become an issue. Thank you for the stupid fights we had because they made us stronger. Thank you for never holding grudges against me when I mess up or overreact and for never letting boys get between us, even when they tried really hard.

Thank you for sticking with me even when I moved over a thousand miles away. Thank you for the letters and the late night FaceTime calls. Even when those stopped being a frequent occurrence, we still managed to not forget about one another. So, thank you. Thank you for making new friends, but not pushing me aside. Thank you for getting a boyfriend, but still treating me like your soulmate. Thank you for leading your own new life, but not forgetting to let me be a part of it.

So, thank you for being the best friend I could have ever have. Just thank you.

Love,

Your best friend