“In life we never lose friends, we only learn who the true ones are.”

~ Anonymous

Friendships. They come and go like seasons, but when that person stays in your life through the toughest moments, that’s when you know. You know that you’ve truly found something special that will last forever. High school friendships also come and go, especially when you’re off to college. But when your small group of friends or your best friend from high school stays with you through college, that’s when you know you have found a friendship that will last for a lifetime.

To my high school friend,

High school was never easy for me and in fact it was the worst four years of my life. But what made those four years worth it? The friends who never left my side. And as we got older and parted our separate ways to new schools, they were still by my side.

Thank you for never leaving my side and always being there for me. I remember high school graduation and thinking “I hope that we will still be friends through college.” I knew that we were close throughout high school because we battled the toughest battles together, from freshman to senior year. But I knew that we would both be going off to a new school and meeting new people. I always had that fear deep down that in college you’d meet someone who would replace me; they would become your new best friend and I would be pushed to the side. But you didn’t. You may have met and made other best friends, but I know that I will always be your number one.

I’ve met the closest friends I’ll ever come to know, but know that nobody can replace the special place you have in my heart. No matter how close I’ve become with my college friends, you’re always the first person I go to if I’m having a bad day and need someone to cheer me up, if I need boy advice or need someone to convince me that the boy I’m talking to isn’t good enough for me (even though I know it) and that I deserve better, or if I simply want to talk about nothing. Somehow, some way, you always know what to say in any situation.

I tell all of my college friends about you and how amazing of a person you are and that you’ll have to get your butt to my school so they can meet you. I tell them that we are basically the same person, and if they like me and somehow manage to tolerate every side of me, they’ll love you. However, I may mention you a little too much and my friends may get sick of it, but I don’t care. It’s only because I miss you and wish you were here with me, but it’s also so they know how much you mean to me and always will.

Coming home is one of the best feelings in the world after you’ve been away for a few months. You see your family, your pets, eat endless amounts of homemade food, and sleeping in. But more importantly I get to see you. Because of you I always have something to look forward to when I come home. No matter how many months we have been apart from each other, when we reunite, it’s like we never left. We are silly as ever, and now that we are both 21 we can finally go out for drinks. And when that does happen, we both know that we are in for an unexpected adventure.

“In life we never lose friends, we only learn who the true ones are.”

You have shown me what it means to be a true friend, someone who is loyal, caring, passionate, and honest. You have seen me at my worst and at my best. You always encourage me to meet people and do great things without having any regrets. You are the first person to tell me when a boy I like isn’t good enough for me because I deserve better, and that if I don’t get rid of him, you will. You always want the best for me whatever that may be and you won’t make me forget it. It’s hard to imagine a life without you because we’ve been through so much and a life without you is simply impossible. All of the fights, drama, and tears we’ve had throughout the years have been worth it because that just made us closer. You are the one person who knows me better than myself. I sometimes think that’s impossible but I’d have it no other way.