I’ve never been a fan of the term 'best friend.' To me, it’s too much of a label that puts a lot of pressure in a friendship, and it excludes other friends who may be just as important. Call me crazy, but I can’t decide who my one true best friend is in my life. That doesn’t mean I don’t have people in my life that aren't my ride-or-dies. I value each person differently, but one isn’t necessarily better than the other.

I’ll admit that I have the habit of calling some of my closest friends my ‘best friends’, especially when I’m referring to them to others. I’m grateful that I have a number of friends I could easily classify as 'best friends,' but they’re all from different realms in my life, and are different from one another.

For example, you have your childhood best friends. These are the friends that you had footy-pajama sleepovers complete with High School Musical marathons. They’re the ones who witnessed and supported you during your pre-teen awkward phase, and were probably the messenger for telling your crush that you ‘like them-like them’. To top it all off, they are the ones your parents consider their own children. Since they were a part of a large portion of your life, they most likely hold a special place in your heart, not necessarily a special label.

Then there’s your high school squad. These are the only people from your high school class that you still keep in touch with. Who was there for you when you were freaking out about college applications? Who else wrote those page long yearbook signings? Perhaps after high school, you all went your separate ways to attend your dream college, but once there’s a break for all of you to return home, it’s like your back at your lunch tables talking about how what’s-her-face still posts lengthy controversial Facebook statuses that end up in fight sessions in the comments.

Then you get to college and meet people who too also survived the four years of high school. You get to meet people who share the same interests as you, but also come from unique backgrounds. These are the people that change you, and hopefully for the better. You may discover a new hobby with this person, and you ultimately learn more about yourself along the way. These are the friends that you party with on the weekends, have ice cream runs with when you’re stressed about finals, and have endless adulting rants with. They say you meet your best friends in college, whether that be from a random meeting or perhaps they were even your roommate. You’re most likely separated in the summer but you’re surprisingly excited to get back to school so you can be reunited.

What all these ‘best’ friends have in common is that they bring out the best in YOU, and you can count on each one of them when life gets rough, it’s just a matter of who would be best to connect with depending on the situation. You’re comfortable with them, and they bring out different sides in you, whether that be your quirky-self or your serious-self. Maybe some are better suited for different occasions, but again, that doesn’t mean one is better than the other.

If you have that one special best friend that you literally do everything with and they’re distinctly special from the rest of your friend, that’s totally fine, too. There’s no minimum or maximum on the number of best friends you can have, but in my case, I can’t just narrow it down to one. Thank God I have a sister so choosing a maid of honor for my wedding is already all figured out.

It’s also worth mentioning that as we grow older, new friends come in, and perhaps even some friendships fade. That’s just the way life goes, but remember it’s the people in your life that make the difference, and each person serves for a specific purpose. Friendships don’t need a label, they are individually unique and most importantly, make life worth living.