Dear "friend,"

I almost lost you. I almost lost my other half. Your life became too much to handle, and you didn’t know what to do. I hate to see you cry and I hate to see you in pain. Since that moment, I have taken every opportunity to tell the people I love that I love them.

Thank you for scaring the living hell out of me to make me realize that bad news never has good timing, and to realize that I often take life for granted.

Thank you for being brave, for battling your mind and overcoming your demons. I know that life is tough, and I know that sometimes our minds can be too heavy on our shoulders. But I want you to know that without you, I would be empty. I want you to know that you are the one designed for me, you are the one I can call when I’m crying at 3 p.m. after I just bombed an exam, the one I can text when I need someone to laugh at my jokes, the one I show my perfect eyeliner to, the one I can FaceTime just to see your smile, the one I can go to when I have so much on my chest. Without you, friend, I would not be where I am today. I wanted you to know that without you, I would not have a support system. I would not have somebody to be proud of me.

When you first became my friend, I was so eager. I finally had someone I really connected with. No matter what we were doing, we had a blast. We made so many memories driving around in my car, singing along to our favorite songs.

I want to write this letter to celebrate you, and to let you know that I don’t know what I would have done if I lost you that day. I want you to know that you are ridiculously important to me. I want you to know that you have given me a reason to keep going. When my problems become too much, and the voices in my head are too loud, I have to remember that you are here— that you made it through this, so I have to, too.

Friend, please, know now that no matter how hard it gets, I am still here. No matter what time it is, where I am, what I am doing, I will be your rock. You are my hero, and now I want to be yours.

With love,

The one you scared the hell out of