Having a friend, in my case a relative in the army has been one of the hardest changes that I've ever had to deal with. But at the same time, it has taught me a lot of valuable life lessons. First of all, it has taught me to never take how often I can see someone for granted. People may think "Oh, I see so-and-so all the time, I'm starting to get sick of them". But no, that's not how it works. We should be more appreciative of how often we're able to see any important person in our lives. Second of all, having a family member in the army has taught me to always tell the people I love how important they are to me in person, because saying it through a text-message, and in my case, this article, doesn't seem like enough. Unfortunately, since I can't see you as often as I used to, I've written this letter to remind you how much you mean to me.

Dear [insert name here],

Even though you're my cousin, and we're supposed to like each other, you truly are my best friend. Being a best-friend has its perks, for example, knowing things about you. For example, I knew that you would eventually enter the army from the time we were both little. You had such a passion for all things army related, whether it was playing war video games or shooting me in the head with one of your many Nerf Guns. With that being said, I'm so proud of you for following your dream of enlisting. Even though we had two totally different dreams, mine including college, and yours including large guns, we both stuck to our passions. Yeah, it sucks that we can't see each other often, but that part doesn't matter. As long as your happy doing what you love, I'm happy too.

But on the flip-side, I really do miss you. I would be lying if I said I didn't. Going from seeing you every day in high school to seeing you once every six or seven months has been a weird adjustment. Like I said before, it's probably one of the hardest changes I've ever gone through. You and I have been attached to the hip from the time we could walk. I mean, we were born only 24 days apart. We've experienced so many milestones together, like our first camping trips as a family, to going through the whole braces phase, and even graduating high school in the same gymnasium.

As special as those memories were, and as much as I hate to admit it, those are all things of the past now. We're not little kids anymore, we're now adults that are getting ready to experience the "real world". I have to admit, it's pretty scary going through it without you next to me. But even though you're in the army at the other end of the country, I know you'll always be here for me, and I'll always be here for you. Thank you for being not only an amazing cousin, but an amazing best friend as well. Like Lilo and Stitch always say, "Ohana means family. Family means nobody gets left behind or forgotten".

This isn't a goodbye, it's a see you later.