To my forever friend:

There's something to be said about having a friend for as long as you remember, and knowing they'll still be your friend for... well, forever. They've aided in all of your god awful fashion choices, made up dances in your living room, painted your nails different colors. These days, you're getting matching tattoos, visiting each other at college, going to your favorite concerts, furiously texting about your favorite shows. And you just know, without a shadow of a doubt, that you'll be giving speeches at each other's weddings, forcing your kids' to have playdates, and reminiscing on the years gone by. And so because I'm lucky enough to have the greatest friend in the whole entire universe, here is a thank you letter to my forever friend, and all the others out there.

Thank you for always being there. We can go weeks without talking, and I know no matter when I text you or call you, you're just there. No questions asked. There's no pomp and circumstance, no drama. We understand each other and life enough to know that we don't need to talk every second of every day to still be present and constant. It can be something as small as a new coffee flavor at Dunkin' or a random piece of news about Ed Sheeran, but at the end of the day, you're usually the only person with as much enthusiasm for either of those things, and it's always appreciated.

Thank you for always being down for doing nothing. There is something to be said for wearing the same outfit for four days in a row and only leaving the couch for food. Or spending the entire day sleeping, and seeing the light of day solely for bagels and Dunkin'. I mean, wandering the aisles of Barnes and Noble for hours on end and going home to binge watch seven straight episodes of This is Us is all you can really ask for, right? I never feel pressured to put on a bra or do my hair, and THAT is true friendship.

Thank you for balancing me out. You are the sun to my moon, the yin to my yang, the Lorelai to my Rory (or the Rory to my Lorelai? We never did figure that one out) and just about everything between. I know I can always count on you to turn my room into a tornado in minutes or make me look that much tanner in pictures. We've managed to master a pretty successful balancing act over the past 15 years, and for that, I'm forever grateful.

Thank you for giving me another place to call home and another family to be a part of, and for being a part of mine. I genuinely feel as comfortable in your house as I do in my own, no matter how much time has passed since I was last there. I don't remember when our families merged to create one giant web of crazy, but I wouldn't have it any other way.

Thank you for cancelling plans as much as I do; also filed under just getting it, no matter what it is. Things happen--life happens--and there aren't enough people in the world who truly understand that. In the grand scheme of things, rescheduling plans is just a blip on the radar, not the end of the world. I'm glad we can freely cancel on each other without fear of judgment.

Thank you for never feeling too old for sleepovers. I sometimes think how we first had a sleepover when we were in the first grade, and now at 22 years old, a time when some would consider us "adults," we're still having sleepovers. Usually, for more than one night. While the days of trying to prank each other in the middle of the night are over, I know our sleepover streak won't be ending anytime soon. Or, ever, probably. Can you have sleepovers in nursing homes?

Thank you for never annoying me. Ya know when you're with someone for too long and just need time to recharge and breathe as a separate human? As someone who gets annoyed constantly, I can honestly say I've never felt that way. Granted, we do nothing about 80% of the time, so how annoyed could either of us really get? Either way, it's never happened, and at this rate, it probably never will.

Thank you for always being on the same page as me. It's comforting to have a likeminded partner in crime, as I never have to ask twice for unlimited pancakes at iHop or participation in a Bachelor fantasy league or to leave the mall because we're both going insane. The sameness and the consistency is always comforting.

Thank you for being my person. My forever friend.