Thank you for loving me through my awkward stages.

You were there for me through my yellow, blue and pink matching sweatsuits. I was there for the braces and the hippie headbands. Through the flip phones, the rainbow eye-shadow and the scene haircuts, we were together through it all. Thanks for sticking by my side until we discovered the beauty of straighteners and winged eyeliner.

Thank you for being there through the crying fits.

Whenever I'm crying my eyes out, the first person I want to talk to is you. Thank you for knowing exactly what to say when you pick up the phone and all you hear is heavy breathing and sniffles. Whether it is over a bad grade or something as minuscule as looking too fat in my favorite dress, you always stay on the phone with me until I have calmed down and can function like a semi-normal human being.

Thank you for the tough love and the harsh truths.

Anybody can comfort their friends and tell them it's "OK." It's OK that you failed that exam, it's OK that you messed up—it's OK. It takes a real best friend to say "yeah, it is OK you failed that exam but maybe if you hadn't gone out and studied more, you would've done better." It takes a real friend to tell you that the guy that has broken your heart countless of times isn't worth your time no matter how many "sorries" he throws your way. It takes a real best friend to not only comfort you but to open your eyes to reality.

Thank you for sharing your family with me.

By this, I don't mean being welcome for dinner on Sundays. I mean being able to walk into your house without even knocking. I mean coming over to watch "Ancient Aliens" with your mom. It's you coming home from work to find my sitting on your bed watching TV with your sisters. It's having another family I know I can count on and turn to. It's having a second mom and little sisters I never had.

Thank you for helping me "adult."

For driving around when we both finally got our licenses. For being there when we both got out first jobs. For when we both realized our first job (together) was terrible and making a better choice to leave the negativity behind. For helping me move into my first apartment. For shoveling driveways with me to get $20 when we need gas money because we spent all our money recklessly. For the successes of adulting and the failures (hey, we're still learning right?).

Thank you for knowing me better than I know myself sometimes.

Nothing ever gets by you. If I'm upset, you'll immediately notice. If something is bothering me and I don't even realize it, you'll be sure to bring it up. It's me knowing that you're moping in your bed when you say that you want to "stay in for the night." It's knowing you're mad based on your three-word text message because you didn't use any capitals.

Thank you for sticking through the fights.

With best friends who have been together for so long, there are bound to be fights. Thanks for sticking through it. Thanks for not giving up. I know I can be aggravating at times, and you are terrible at opening up, but together we are the most stubborn duo ever. We make it work, because at the end of the day no one gets us the way the other person does. That's why I will always show up at your door if you refuse to talk to me for days. That's why we will yell at each other at the top of our lungs, but at the end of the day make up.

Thank you for being down for adventures.

Whether it consisted of staying up till 2 a.m. at 14 years old watching scary movies on school nights, piercing each other's ears at 3 a.m. at 16 or partying at the new apartment at 20. While our adventures may change throughout the years, the countless laughs do not.

Thank you for sticking through the changes.

Thank you for loving me no matter who I am at the time. You support me whether I'm pre-med or psych. You support me through modeling or tattoos. You supported me for the five days I was a vegetarian or that time I was really into white eyeshadow. I'll always love you whether you're blonde, red or brunette, and I'll stick by your side through your countless different obsessions.

Thank you for the future.

I thank you ahead of time for whatever is to come. I don't like to plan my future out too much because I've come to realize that life never goes as planned. However, if there is anything about my future that I know with certainty is the fact that that you'll be in it. There are several people I have grown apart from through the years but not you. Through the changes, we grow together, we change together, we're meant to be in each other's lives. Whether we end up wreaking havoc at our future kid's fifth Chuck E. Cheese's birthday party or riding golf carts around the old folks home, we will be together.

Whether we talk every day or once a week, we know that we are always there for each other. You'll always be my best friend.

Thank you for being my person.