Dear Next Door Neighbor,

Most importantly, thank you for being there when I needed you most. When I wanted to sit on the roof wrapped in a blanket in the middle of summer, or when I felt like laying on my bed and eating a pint of ice cream at 2 a.m. You were there when I had braces and talked with a lisp from my palate expander, and you didn't even flinch when I came home with the worst haircut of my life. Still can't decide if I looked more like Peter Pan or a young Leonardo DiCaprio, but it made no difference to you.

The longest we've ever been separated is a mere 5 months, and even then we were on FaceTime with each other enough for people to think that we were dating. I will always be here to make fun of you for every person you date, and I know you'll always be a 52-second walk with vanilla ice cream and a hell of a lot of back-handed compliments.

If it weren't for you, I probably would've spent multiple summers pent up inside with air conditioning, but instead, I was outside with helmet hair, sunburns, and sweat stains. Thank you for making me walk two miles in the sweltering summer sun just to get a vanilla frappe we could've made in one of our kitchens, and thank you for driving me to school even after I had my license but I had a sprained knee and a flat tire. Basically, thank you for forcing me out of my house and helping me in the most ridiculous of situations, just because you know how bad my luck is.

Honestly, you can probably be given credit for most of my relationships because no one else could come over during the early hours of the morning to coach me on exactly how I should respond to the latest text from the boy I like. No matter how many times I obnoxiously text you to come over, you always do, and somehow you always fail to remember to bring your own phone charger. Regardless, I love you, and my life certainly wouldn't have encompassed as many late night adventures and midnight trips to Wendy's if you weren't in it. Besides, who would I borrow sugar from every time I bake something and forget that we ran out a month ago?

- Your Next Door Neighbor (to the left)