If you're lucky like I am, you have a friend or friends that have seen you through most, if not all, of the stages of your life. These friends are treasures, and it's important to remind yourself that they have stuck by you through everything.

To my lifelong friend: thank you for sticking with me through so much: my punk phase in middle school, my first kiss, my first heartbreak, when we decided to go to separate colleges... you were by my side for all of that, and for some unexplainable reason, you're still here, trudging alongside me through the messy, unpredictable chaos that is life.

We can go days, weeks, even months without seeing each other, and when we finally reunite, it's like no time has passed at all. The conversation seems to simply continue from where it left off the last time we spoke. There's never an awkward moment, and silences are comfortable.

You know me. You really know me, and you still accept and love me, flaws and all. You know my biggest mistakes and my deepest secrets. You know about my weakness for McFlurries, (and you exploit that weakness frequently). You know about the vulnerable side of me that I don't show the world. You know exactly how to make me laugh until my mascara is running down my cheeks. Sure, others know me too, but you've seen me under every circumstance- my darkest days to my happiest times. You know me, and I know you, and that is something to be grateful for.

You are the first person I want to tell when something strange or embarrassing happens to me, and you are the first person I text when I see that guy who broke your heart in 10th grade just to make sure you know he's seriously gone downhill. When it's been a rough day, it's you who I need to come over so we can stuff our faces and cry to dumb, romantic movies. When I find a new actor or band to obsess over, I immediately try to get you obsessed too, because well... it's way more fun that way.

Together, we have experienced so much, so many ups and downs. You are the compassionate, spontaneous, bright, funny, and trustworthy person that I have always needed and will always need in my life. Without you by my side for all of these years, my life would have been dull, but luckily, I've had you to make memories with- memories we can laugh about (and cringe at) later- and I'm even luckier because we get to continue making them with each passing year.

There's no one I'd rather have by my side in the nursing home, messing with the staff and (still) eating too much pudding and watching silly teen romances.