Dear New Friend,

Thank you. Thank you for everything.

You came into my life when I needed you the most.

You found this lonely, broken girl with no one to trust. You found a girl who didn't know who she was, but was questioning every aspect of herself because of one person. You found a girl who thought she was awful and selfish and a pain to the world, and you made her feel seen. You took this girl and you brought her under your wing.

You let me talk and talk and talk with no end in sight. You let me rant about the things that no one else would listen to, and you made me feel understood. You heard each of my insecurities that were deeply rooted in my head, and you treated me gently and with respect.

You listened to the things I hate about myself, things that others made me hate. You listened to every single thing that someone said was wrong about me, and you validated me in every single one.

Even when I was convinced that I was wrong. When I was certain that these people were right. That I was this awful person under the guise of someone light. You made me feel new. You looked at these things that I thought were evil, and reminded me that they were human. And that I was too.

You let me be a person. Something I'm still not doing right. You help me learn how to help and be helped. I've still got a long way to go, but your patience has never wavered and it doesn't seem like it ever will. You're kind and gentle and loving. I'd forgotten what that felt like.

You trust me with things that no one else knows. You let me behind your walls, even though you know my flaws. You laugh with me. You cry with me. You experience with me. And for that I am eternally grateful.

I'm so thankful I have you. I'm thankful for all that you've done. I'm thankful for our work adventures. I'm thankful for the late night car rides. I'm thankful for our Target adventures. I'm thankful for late nights in my dorm. I'm thankful for all of the laughs we've shared, and for all the tears we've shared.

I'm thankful that I can be vulnerable with you, and that you can be vulnerable with me too. I'm thankful that you took a chance on me, and let me talk to you about things at work that really shouldn't have been talked about at work.

Thank you for holding me while I cry, and thank you for letting me do the same for you. Thank you for grounding me when it feels like the world is crashing around me.

Thank you for noticing the small things. You will never know how much it means to hear you say "You've been wanting that for a while." Thank you for paying attention. Thank you for letting me cook you dinner and letting me spend hours showing you something that I love.

Thank you for inviting me out to dinner. Thank you for driving an hour to my hometown so we can have lunch together at one of my favorite places with our friend before you drove an hour back for work.

Thank you for making me feel seen and loved and wanted.

Thank you for giving me a friendship I so desperately needed.

Thank you for being you. I love you so much.

Sincerely,

Me

- - -

Hi, it's been ages since I posted here. But it was late and I'm feeling sentimental and I wrote this small piece to honor the first real friend I made at college. She means the absolute world to me. She found me when I was completely alone after losing some of the only friends I had. She sees my flaws and let's me work on them at my pace. I'll never show her this, but that's because I've told her these things to her face. I've expressed my gratitude to her, but I just wanted to honor her this way.

So thanks for reading this little piece. I'll see y'all around.

~Neemz <3