5 Reasons We Need To Thank Our Best Friends

We spend the majority of our year three hours and 200 miles away, and even though we don’t always talk every day, I want you to know that I never take you for granted, not even for a minute. Our lives are chaotic, ever changing, and sometimes a little messy—but I want to take a few minutes out of my hectic schedule and thank you for things that mean the world to me. Quite simply, I would be lost without you.

1. Thank you for growing up with me.

We’ve gone through all my phases of growing up with me. My awkward middle school phase with too much eyeliner and a very bad hairstyle, that phase in high school where I felt lost as I watched entire world turn upside down, and now my petrified college phase where I’ve made some questionable choices and reality has hit me in the face and scared the shit out of me. You’ve gone through it all, never leaving my side. Which leads to my next point:

2. Thank you for being stable.

There have been a countless amount of things that have changed in the last 7 years. Friendships, relationships, goals and aspirations, life-choices…. the list goes on and on. I have watched so many people walk in and walk out; I have watched so many people quietly fade off the radar. Through all the dramatic exits I’ve endured, there’s always been one thing that has never faltered: you. Thank you for being my constant beam of support, encouragement, and hope. You have been my rock and my foundation through some of the hardest things I’ve ever gone through.

3. Thank you for never judging me.

You are one of the only people that I feel comfortable telling everything to. When I recount a night out, I’d usually leave out the embarrassing detail when I texted my ex, but not with you. I tell you, even knowing that you’ll tell me I’m stupid, but knowing you’re not actually thinking I’m stupid. You understand my quips and quirks and you support me—with everything. Everyone makes bad choices, but you know that I learn from them. You know I’m stumbling through life trying to figure things out. Thank you for loving me when I’m not so easy to love, and thank you for accepting my shortcomings. I love you for that.

4. Thank you for knowing when to be honest.

Most people say that one of the most outstanding qualities of a good friend is their ability to be honest—but I’d disagree. I’d say it’s more important to know when and how to be honest. Everyone needs a dose of reality once in a while, but it’s very important to know when to give that. When I’m crying over that stupid boy that I can’t get over, it won’t really help to tell me that “there’s someone better” because I don’t want to hear it. You’ve always been so good with that. Instead of telling me I’m being very dramatic (which I probably am), you listen to my heartbreak, and you calmly talk me down. And, in 3 weeks, when I’m STILL upset about that stupid boy, then you tell me I’m being dramatic. That’s when I need to hear it.

5. Thank you for being supportive.

I think you might be the only person (aside from my family) that genuinely wants to see me succeed. When you ask about my life, I know you really do care. You actually want to know how I’m doing. You truly do want to see only the best things happen to me, and that kind of support gives me the courage to take risks and move forward. I know that if I get married before you, you aren’t secretly going to be bitter at my wedding because you’re still single. You’ll probably cry more than I do. You make even the sweetest victories that much sweeter.