Dear my (long distance) best friend,

God has blessed me with many amazing things in my twenty years of living. I have an amazing family, some pretty great jobs, I get to go to a school that I love and I have had endless amounts of exciting and incredible opportunities come my way. But hands down one of the biggest and best blessings He has given me, besides family and friends in general, in this chaotic mess I call my life, is you.

About four years ago I met a girl just about my age from our cross town rival high school, volunteering to coach Special Olympics basketball. We didn’t exchange much conversation before the tournament itself but you would be amazed what four hours stuck on a charter bus can do for you. We went to the tournament, came back, grabbed chicken strips (obviously) from Red Robin and that’s really it. Except it’s not.

Our story could have ended there; us grabbing lunch and becoming friends. But it didn’t end there. No it goes so much further than that. I don’t think either of us knew it at the time, I mean how could you, but that day, I met my best friend. A friend that would always be there no matter the time of day or the situation. A truly one-of-a-kind friend.

Never could I have seen for myself a friend that was so exactly the same as me but so different in her own unique way. A friend that was not only willing to do any stupid idea I had come up with that day but also one that could concoct her own stupid plans for me to go along with, a friend with the same taste as me in basically anything you can think of but also one with her own mind, thoughts, and opinions, and let’s not forget to mention your support in my love for the greatest food known to mankind, CHICKEN STRIPS. A friend just as crazy as myself.

There are many, many things I could say about you, just to talk you up a bit;) You are quick to listen and slow to speak, have the biggest and most open heart I have ever encountered, you give the best advice, aren’t afraid to tell me how it really is, but more importantly you love without end and push me to be a better person. You can put anything and everything into perspective for me, and that’s something special in and of itself;)

You may be all of these great things but one thing you are not, is close to me. No, you are 900+ miles away from me, back home in Montana (and yes I know this is my own fault). But does that stop you, or us, from doing the things we do best for each other? No it doesn’t; and that right there my friend, is what being best friends is all about. It isn’t about doing every single fun thing we can think of, or hanging out every single day. Although those are great things, being best friends means we are there for each other even when we aren’t THERE for each other. Like the quote says, “Together forever, never apart, maybe in distance but never in heart”, it’s true, take it from me, a girl who has spent nearly the last three years almost a thousand miles from her best friend.

So, to my “long distance" best friend, thank you for always being there. No matter the time of day, no matter the situation, and no matter what either of us were going through—breakups, friend problems, school problems, you name it, you were there.

And in the end, the best thing is coming home after months apart and it seems like nothing has changed. And that's what really matters.