I met the first of you in the first grade, and we were pretty much friends from then on out, despite the countless hours of drama we went through. The second of you came in seventh grade, when I it felt like I had no friends at all. You and I went through a rough patch which ended only being one, big, massive miscommunication. The rest of you came in high school, primarily through the volleyball team. And let me just say, I wouldn’t trade all our memories for the world.

I can’t count the hours that we spent on that houseboat painting, fighting over the rooms, singing along to whatever Disney movie we had playing or wrestling for the last cinnamon roll. If I was ever in a panic about makeup or what to wear, I knew one of you would be at my house in a heartbeat. During football games, even though I was on the field taking pictures, I always knew that the second I came off the field, you guys would happily make a spot for me in the student section. I was raised with some of you, and the rest of us bonded over anything and everything. We argued and fought and laughed and cried. You all were the best of friends.

On August 1, 2016, we took probably what will be our last group picture together. It was four days before I left to move to a different state. Out of our group of eight, I was the only one who went to college in another state. One went on to another school about an hour or so away, and the rest of you stayed home for school. I won’t lie, as excited as I was to go to college, I was quite envious of you all.

You got to stay at home with each other and continue what we did in high school. The memories and laughter and doing stupid things that probably shouldn’t ever be done. I wasn’t anxious about making new friends, but I didn’t know how I wouldn’t possibly replace you all and everything we’d been through that made our friendship so amazing. When I got to college, I was at a loss. I was searching for the familiarity and comfort that you guys always gave me, but I realized that every single one of you were four hours away. What was I supposed to do?

It wasn’t until a few weeks in that I realized that you all could never be replaced. There wouldn’t be someone who knew literally everything about me in every way because they’d known me since I was a kid. There wouldn’t be someone who would say, “Oh! Remember in sixth grade when…” There wouldn’t be someone who I could look in the eyes and just remember every stupid thing we’d ever done together and laugh for hours.

I still miss the familiarity that I had with you guys. And now that I’m so far way, I can only appreciate the friendship and memories you all have given me. You showed me what I wanted in best friends: loyalty, and craziness, and laughter, and fun. You all can never be replaced, but you’ve guided me to the friends that I’ve made in college. You set the standard.

I can never thank you enough for all that you gave me: the hurting sides from laughing too hard, the easing of stress about our Calculus tests, and the insane car rides on the backroads of town at three in the morning. Four and a half hours, two state lines, and 257 miles separate us, but I will always love you guys. Thank you for all that you gave me.