1. She was your partner in crime growing up. She let you get away with things you would’ve gotten in trouble for. She told you family secrets you weren’t supposed to know, and she would always sneak you candy or anything you were not supposed to have.

2. She is the one you go to for guy advice. Because she won’t freak out like your mom and won’t let you do whatever you want like your friends. She is the perfect person to talk to about the guy you’re unsure of or the guy you just started talking to or the guy you want to bring home.

3. She is the one you love to drink with. She was probably the one who gave you your first drink or the one who thinks there’s nothing a drink couldn’t fix.

4. She is the one you call when you’re helpless. Not only will she tell you what to do, she might drop whatever she is doing and come help you. Cool aunts are usually tougher than most people and will not let their nieces go astray.

5. She stands up for you in front of your parents. She knows you and she always sees your point of view and speaks on your behalf when your parents are against you.

6. She is the one you look up to. You admire her strength, her charisma, her flexibility and her resilience; how she can act like a mother one day and a 10-year-old kid the next. You admire how she lives life to the fullest no matter what life hands her.

7. She helped you understand your parents. She knows them and she knows you and she is always telling you stories about their past so you can understand them better. She is the one who helped you love them when they were being hard to love.

8. She encouraged your rebellious phase. Even though she was worried, she encouraged you to go out and explore the world the way you saw it. She wanted you to become your own person like she did. Even when your parents almost gave up on you, she knew you will always find your way. She sees herself in you and she gets it.

9. She knows all your friends. She may even join your ladies night from time to time. They all love her and ask about her. She is always cracking jokes and making fun of them and of course she is just as generous with them as she is with you.

10. She is the one you confide in. She knows your darkest secrets, the ones you can’t tell your friends about and the ones you surely can’t tell your mom about. You know they are safe with her and you know she will never hold them against you.

11. She has the last word. Even though you act like you listen to your mom or you need her approval, it’s really your aunt that has the last word. You trust her opinion more, you trust her judgment and you trust her blindly because she knows you better than you know yourself.

12. She knows how to make you smile. You’ve probably spent plenty of nights at her house because you just couldn’t deal with anyone. She is the only one you can take in full doses and she always knows how to comfort you. She is always the one you go to when you feel like no one understands you.

13. She still spoils you. No matter how old you are, you will always be her baby niece, and she will forever pamper you like you were first-born. Birthdays or not; she never comes empty-handed.

14. She is your person. She is your first and real best friend, because she knew you when you were a baby and she knew your parents when they were young and reckless and she knew the family secrets so you don’t have to explain anything to her. She knows it all and she knows how to solve your problems. Your conversations can go on forever and it will only feel like a minute.

15. She loves you unconditionally. Whether she has kids or not, whether she is close to your mom or not, whether you are the golden girl or a hot mess, she just loves you wholeheartedly. She chose you, she was the one who decided she wants to be your best friend rather than your aunt. You will have a special place in her heart and she is not afraid to tell the whole world that you are her favorite niece.