The other day, I realized I am really lucky. Not because my baseball team is playing great (they aren't) or because I figured out what I want to do with my life (I haven't). I'm lucky because I have some seriously amazing friends.
My mom always says you should count your blessings if you can count your close friends on one hand. Well, according to my mom, I'm one lucky girl.
Caroline is my sister, my partner in crime, my mortal enemy and my best friend. She's the person who wears my clothes without asking, and always knocks me down a peg when I'm getting a little too cocky. Basically, she's the person who can be screaming at me about using her hairspray one minute and threatening bodily harm to the boy who broke my heart the next. She's my little sister, and even when I hate her, she's my best friend in the world.
Fran is my roommate and confidant. She knows pretty much everything there is to know about me, and she knows what I'm thinking before I do. We're total opposites, but somehow it works. She's the person I can never hide my true feelings from, and she always knows how to make me laugh, even when I think I'll never be able to laugh again.
Carolyn and Jenna make up Fran and I's crazy foursome. They complete our little group. Carolyn and I have serious life chats while doing superficial girly stuff, like going tanning and drinking too much coffee. Jenna is the girl who, no matter what we're talking about, can make it even more hilarious. These three have been there for me through a lot, and our "Sex and the City" marathons, complete with pints of Ben and Jerry's, do my soul a lot of good.
One of my friends is not really my friend. She is my chum, Jenny. Freshman year, we decided we were more than friends and we have been chums ever since, just like Nancy, Bess and George from the "Nancy Drew" books. I've known Jenny since the first night of freshman year, and she's been important to me ever since. Whether we're talking about "Gilmore Girls" or she's holding my hand through my first broken heart, Jenny has been there. She is my constant, and someday we'll be able to share stories of how we met in college with our kids, who will also be chums.
Jenny is the person who introduced me to Bonnie. Even though I thought Bonnie hated me when we first met, I later realized she was just shy and getting used to my crazy, over-the-top personality.
She's the person I turn to when I need advice. She tells me what she thinks and what she thinks is best for me. Bonnie always makes sure I'm okay, and, on one of the worst nights of my life, she brought me a huge bag of Peppermint Patties, an act I'm still grateful for.
These are my people. The girls I turn to. The ones who have been there through every defining moment of my college experience, and the ones who will be there a year from now when college is ending. Even better, they will be the ones around for years to come.