To be quite honest with you, I cannot pinpoint exactly how or why we became friends in elementary school. I mean, you were probably the most sociable and energetic kid in the entire school building. And me? I would’ve been lucky to even know one person acknowledged my existence in that classroom. We were EXACT opposites. But somehow, some sort of force brought us together to form an eternal friendship that I could never imagine my life without.

All of a sudden, I found myself always coming over your place. You see, I couldn’t even order my food at restaurants on my own. How could I possibly talk to your parents and siblings? I’m fairly sure they may have been convinced that you genuinely just felt bad for me. But… you didn’t. No, for some reason you saw some sort of value in the timid girl hiding behind her desk. You took her under your wing and showed her your extroverted ways. You not only made me develop a sense of humor, you allowed me to see the beauty in actually speaking your mind. I know in my heart that I would never possess the communication skills I do today without you. You believed in me and cared about me when no one even noticed me. Once we got to middle school, you STILL stayed my best friend. Why? Even through my ugly childhood phase, you proceeded to make sure that the friends you could so easily make would be introduced to me, too. Even at this point in my life, I can honestly say that the acceptance you gave me in such a transitional stage in my childhood leaves me without any single way to repay you.

I should most likely take a second to apologize once high school hit. After I became slightly more approachable and sociable (thanks to you, if you didn’t already get that), I discovered the world of boyfriends. And if anyone is the queen of making their friend third wheel, it’s me. You gave me the confidence and humor I needed to date boys and this is how I repay you? You really picked a shitty friend to experience your childhood with. Soon enough though, the third wheeling ended. “This guy was definitely the one!!!” I said, as you wiped the tears from my eyes through every little heartbreak. On the outside, you always knew that guy didn’t deserve me, but you let me have my happy moment. That’s the thing about you. My happiness came first, and I totally took that for granted. As our high school career progressed, I became close friends with a bunch of other people basically because I thought you’d always be there. You had every single right to abandon our friendship, but you didn’t. You stayed, because even if I never gave you the credit you deserved, you knew that I always cared. And somehow, deep down, you knew that no one would be a better friend than you. Out of anyone in the world, you’re still the person who can prove me wrong and make me admit it.

I guess that moment we realized you were moving away, it never really occurred to us that it was permanent. At first, it felt similar to a long vacation from each other. Eventually you’d come back and before we knew it, we’d be staying up until 3 AM on weekends making the dumbest inside jokes. But you didn’t. You never came back. Now at the middle of my junior year in high school I had no idea what to do. Sure, I had the friends that YOU gave me. I had our extracurriculars that I only participated in with YOU. Everyone in school would miss you, but all of them knew I was hurting the most. The one person who actually had my back for six straight years was just physically not there anymore. For awhile, I was mad at myself. I never told myself to appreciate you like I do now. Because once you left, I realized that everyone in this world was not as lucky as I was. They may have a best friend, but they didn’t have you.

Of course, as the days go on, we still talk. You still make time out of your busy schedule to catch up once in awhile. Though I was never able to fathom what it would be like without you physically near me, you still manage to keep me included, just like always. I don’t think you ever realized that you are the sole reason that I am who I am today. I don’t even think I always realize it either. But if this distance has taught me anything, it’s that even though we’re miles away, nothing changes. Even though we’re not in each other's’ presence, we’re still as close as before. And if there is any one thing I wanted to get across in this message, is that I am thankful for the rest of my life that I have the honor of having you as my best friend.

Love,