Let us go back to April of this year during an Honors Conference located in the hub of Boston, Massachusetts. The four long days had been hectic with thirty-minute commutes to and from the hotel that the actual conference was taking place. Who knew that traveling four miles each day would take sixty to ninety minutes? Obviously, we did not. The weekend was full of many exciting memories; including the one where I met my best friend: Maria Capozzoli.

If you asked Maria, we became friends on the dance floor. For those who know me, you know that I can't actually dance, so for someone to still want to be friends with me after they have witnessed me "dance", they are a trooper for sure. Of course, I had known Maria from my freshman honors classes and the fact that she is our class president, but we never really talked. I kick myself for waiting for two years to begin an extraordinary friendship.

Never have I been able to easily open up to someone as much as I can with Maria, perhaps it's because she has that aura about her that you can immediately trust her (or maybe it's Maybelline). You can go by my word that she is one of the most trustworthy friends that I have been able to share my life with.

Whenever I achieve a huge accomplishment, she is one of the first to tell me how proud she is of me. If I am sad or in an emergency, she is the first one there to help pick me back up. On Fridays she trudges through work with me, but with mandatory trips to Starbucks. She's the friend who spots loose leaf Italian Chamomille at Bed Bath & Beyond and buys it for you because you don't have that kind. If one of our professors sees us without the other, they tend to ask where the other half is. Weekends are the hardest because I am a resident in the dorms and she is a commuter, and we have to wait two to three days to see each other. Also, she sends me some of the best memes and they always brighten up my day.

In just a few years, Maria and I are going to be taking over the English and History Departments at our school. There are no better friendship goals than this! And now in just a few short weeks, I will be leaving for eight months. I couldn't be more upset than to leave my best friend, but I will plan out Facetime dates. I know you are going to rock the play and Junior Ring Ceremony. Promise me to not give up on yourself and not to lose your self-confidence because you will overcome the challenges that will come your way. I have no doubt about this.

I will never understand how I got so lucky to become best friends with Maria or what I even did to deserve her kindness. When you see this Maria, thank you. Thank you for all that you do for me and will do in the future (because you are stuck with me now). I love you more than Lin-Manuel Miranda.

Did I actually just say that?