Dear Best Friend (and now roomie),

Wow, I can’t believe a year has already passed since we first met and began this journey together. I remember our anxious and frightful freshmen days like they were yesterday. We have both come a long way since we started out just a year ago and we are still journeying down that road.

As we start our second year in college there are just a few things we should both remember to do for each other. One, let's stay motivated to motivate each other every day. Don’t let me take four-hour naps when you know I have tons of homework to do. You have my permission to rip the covers off of me and tell me to get to study hall. Bring me back down to Earth when I start getting into my head too much. We are both so very capable of handling a lot, let’s never let each other forget that. When stressful times come lets always remember to remind each other what’s really important and that failure is not the end of the world.

Fortunately, we are teammates too, and we both know that playing college sports are accompanied by pressure, stress, and immeasurable amounts of effort. When one of us starts getting negative, let’s influence each other to be positive through the trials, for worrying won't change any circumstances. Through tough losses, time on the bench and injuries, let’s always be the first one to pick each other up. We know our worth and we know that it is deeply rooted in the people we are, not the way we perform on the field. I always need reminders that my biggest critic is myself, and I’m sure you do too. Whether in the weight room or on the turf, let’s promise to push each other to our highest limits we both know we are capable of reaching. Let’s not let each other fall short of small victories we know we can attain every day.

This life, far from home, and placed all on our own is not easy, but with each other, it definitely becomes easier to handle. When life seems to be swirling around us like a high-speed tornado let’s fall down from our high grounds and laugh. Never forget to remind each other that while we chose to live the life we do, to give ourselves a break every now and then. I’ll cheer you up when you fall into the deep sink hole of your bed after a long day and you will pick me up as I hang my head during a difficult and enduring practice in the hot sun.

I’ll tell you when he’s not the one and you better tell me too. Grab my arm and pull me out of situations that the smarter me would not be in, and I’ll do the same. Most importantly, DO NOT LET ME TEXT HIM (whoever he may be), and I’ll do the same. Don’t let me forget all the lessons I learned from all the mistakes I made last year and tell me when I am acting like anything but myself, and I’ll do the same.

So here’s to starting a new year, although we don’t know what lies before us, we know what lies behind us and if anything is better than that first year, we are in for the time of our lives.

Let’s do this.