When I arrived at college, I was nervous. I picked up my room key and began hauling all my boxes and bags into my dorm. It was just me and my parents. Or so I thought. I had no idea there was a girl down the hall who felt just as nervous as I did. I had no idea there was a girl down the hall who felt just as disoriented as I did. I had no idea there was a girl down the hall who would soon become my best friend. But there you were, unpacking your boxes just a few rooms away.

You were the first classmate I met. We actually met less than an hour after I arrived on campus. And by met I mean that we briefly exchanged names. I’m not sure if that introduction really counts, because I had to ask you about three more times before I could remember your name on my own. Regardless, I met you for real that evening at the Honors Program barbecue. You were sitting by yourself at a table, and I sat down with my parents. I remember thinking, “Wow, this girl is really fun to talk to. I’m so glad she lives on my hall.” But, even then, I had absolutely no idea how important you would become in my life.

I saw you the next morning. You were really nervous, but I still thought you were pretty cool. After all, you’re an English major, and English majors are inherently cool, right? Anyways, when we left to go to the ocean for orientation and got onto the beach, I’m sorry I freaked out so much when I found out you’d never seen the ocean. It’s kind of funny to look back at that moment, because, since then, the ocean has become a place I associate with our friendship.

I’ve been with you three out of the four times you’ve been to the ocean. My favorite time was definitely when we went to Pacific City and climbed the sand mountain (you are a superhero for driving us back to campus at 2 in the morning). The absolute best part of that adventure, though, was coming back to our dorm and watching you try to brush your teeth while lying on the sinks because you were so tired. It was in that moment, with tears of laughter streaming down my face, that I knew you were special and we were way more similar than I’d previously thought.

When I met you that first day, I had no idea how much you would impact my life. Since then we’ve had so many adventures. Like the time you accidentally called me your soulmate, and I put it on your Snapchat (because I’d stolen your phone) to make it hashtag official. Or when I got a giant bruise on my arm when we simultaneously tried to punch each other because we saw the slug-bug at the exact same time. Or how we somehow end up dumping coffee onto someone’s stuff whenever we do homework together in the dorm lobby… which is extremely often.

Thanks for putting up with my random texts; I’m sorry for sometimes sending you 70 messages when you don’t respond right away. I’m also sorry for stealing your phone and leaving you 500 pictures of my face… actually I don’t think I’m sorry for that. Those pictures are golden. Thanks for staying up late doing homework with me. Thanks for making me coffee when I'm sleepy. Thanks for driving me everywhere because I don’t have a car. Thanks for having my back when I’m trying to avoid social interactions. Thanks for listening to me when I’m upset. Thanks for laughing at me when I vent about dumb things. Thanks for not judging me when I start running on the beach, pretending to be a seagull.

I can’t help but smile when I think about that first time I met you. We were both so disoriented. I had no idea how crazy you were, and I still have my doubts about whether or not you truly understand the depths of my own insanity. But hey, at least we’re crazy in the same direction, right? But honestly, thanks for calling me buddy and making me smile every day. Thank you for being my friend.