I knew going into college that I was going to meet some of my best friends; but I never expected to find you. In a matter of weeks, we went from complete strangers to feeling like I had known you for my whole life. Suddenly, I began to wonder how I had gone through so many years without you. Now as I sit on my bed in our room, I wonder how I managed to get so lucky. I am eternally thankful for SUNY Oneonta and a shared love of science for bringing us together.
Thank you. Of all the things I have come up with, the thousands of ways I’ve written and re-written this letter in my head as I fall asleep, it always comes back to thanking you. Thank you for being my roommate, I imagine I can’t be the easiest person to live with. Thank you for being my go-to lab partner. Thank you for sharing your love of The Weeknd with me; and for always being down to go on spontaneous adventures (read: shopping trips). Thank you for always letting me experiment on you with all my new makeup and for always encouraging me to buy new makeup (you can never have enough right?). Speaking of makeup, thank you for letting me share my love of makeup with you; welcome to the dark side, your bank account will never be full again. Thank you for getting in the car with me and not letting my bad driving scare you away. Thank you for backing my car up and parking for me when I get myself into sticky situations and only making fun of me slightly. And thank you for making college feel more like home and making this whole thing a little easier.
It might sound ridiculous, but I look up to you in so many ways. Life hasn’t always been fair to either one of us, but you have taken it in stride and have become a beautiful, admirable woman who never lets anything stop you. You have taught me so many things about life and every day I continue to learn things from you, academics aside. It has been such a joy knowing you. They say college is when you find some of your best friends for life and I completely agree. I know that you’ll continue to be a part of my life; there for all the big moments, and even if you can’t be there for little ones, you’ll be the first to hear about them. I am so excited to be there for your big moments, to hear about the little ones, and to continue to learn from you every day.
While I can’t wait to see what the future holds for us, I continue to cherish the times we have together now. In just a few short years, spending an entire day sleeping, drinking all day, and getting all dressed up just to take selfies won’t be considered appropriate; pretty soon we’ll be adulting for real. It’s a scary thought, I know. (Warning: this is about to get sappy) I also know I’ll be able to handle anything that gets thrown at me because I’ll have you by my side.
Thank you, xoxo
Emily Barry