“The friends you meet in college are going to be in your life forever.” If I had a nickel for every time someone told me this during my high school years, I wouldn’t even have to go to college in the first place. As a closed-minded adolescent, I rejected the idea that I would build a friend group in college that would feel more comfortable than the social groups I belonged to in high school. I believed that these ideas were just regurgitated cliches that college kids told me to make it seem like they are having tons of fun after high school. Little did I know, only weeks into the fall semester of my freshmen year, I have already met the girls that I can, without a doubt, promise you will be my best friends long after graduation -- so this one goes out to them.

To all of my best friends, I am so grateful that fate brought us together. We routinely remind each other of how much we love each other, and sometimes, when it’s really late and we are deep in our own thoughts, we think about how anomalous it is that we have developed this far as a friend group in only a matter of weeks. I told you my secrets, believing they were unique to only my struggles, and I am grateful that the secrets that I have carried deep in my heart with me throughout high school are the same secrets that you reluctantly revealed during one of our many “TV and wine” nights. I came into college with a social anxiety that I never had coming from my small private school, overwhelmed by a number of diverse people and opportunities that surrounded me, and I thank you for guiding my path and leading me through. You are my accountability partners, my Mexican food fanatics, my go-to’s, my sisters and my second family.

With that being said, I want you to know that I will always be there. I will talk you out of a mistake or stand by your side if you make it anyways. I’ll face time you at 3 in the morning if you have something pressing on your mind. I will always make sure you get home safe. I will always put on my “intimidating” face if you like a boy and remind them that you are my best friend and that he better uphold your values in a respectful manner because you deserve nothing less than that. I will be there for the good times when we are driving around late at night blaring Miley Cyrus and singing at the top of our lungs, and I will be there for the bad times, when things don’t turn out as we planned and life gets rough for a little while. I’ll hate any boy that does you wrong, and love any guy that treats you right. I will always stick up for you when someone says something negative about you, and then I’ll probably start crying against my will because that’s how much you all mean to me. I’ll always go on spontaneous trips home with you when you need to visit your family but don’t want to drive alone. You can always come sleep in my bed when it’s late and you’re locked out of your room. I will always be there to talk about little things like how crazy it is that cameras can capture moments and that hats are literally just portable sunshades. I will always go through the Taco Bell line with you, then immediately go through the Burger King line with you because, well, chicken fries. I will worry with you, I will laugh with you, I will cry with you and I will learn with you. I will always be there when you need me, and probably even when you don’t need me just to annoy you anyway.