Dear Delane,

I never thought that you would become the best friend I've ever had when you banged on my door that evening to ask me about my zodiac sign. You couldn't have arrived at a better time. I didn't know it then, but your moving in was the first time you pulled me out of a dark place. I wasn't getting my homework done or even maintaining basic hygiene living by myself, and your presence was the motivation I needed to get shit done.

I'm so thankful that it was you who moved in with me, and not anyone else. I'm not sure anyone else would have bothered to continue pulling me out of depression after depression. You walked me to the hospital when I was contemplating suicide, and you were supportive before, throughout, and even after the whole ordeal. I was inspired by your inner strength even more after that. Not only were you dealing with your own academic stresses, but you were also dealing with the emotional burdens I placed on you.

And speaking of emotions, your self-awareness has amazed me from the beginning. You started college in a less-than-ideal roommate situation, and you refused to tolerate it. You were looking for a new roommate just a couple of months into your first semester. I realize only now, writing this, that that could have been a red flag. But the way you introduced yourself was so unique, I felt that I would be missing out if I didn't room with you (I was right). If I had been in your shoes, I would have just suffered in silence for my entire first year of college.

I can't imagine you ever suffering in silence, although you've told me that you used to be more shy and quiet. Maybe the feeling is mutual; I was that way in middle and high school, too. I was on track to continue being that way throughout college until you barged in. After I opened the door, of course. I admire that about you. Somehow you manage to perfectly balance pushing and respecting boundaries. You always prefaced your weird questions with, "Can I ask you a weird question?" It's a quality that I think would serve you well in ministry, should you decide to pursue that career option further.

That's yet another thing I admire about you: your flexibility with your life plan. You educated yourself to potentially become a minister, a professor, a historian, or a doctor, all at the same time. You knew your interests and what careers they could lead to, but you didn't set your mind on just one. I like to think that you're a trendsetter in that way. The status quo has always been to know what you want to do before entering college and then use your four years to get a degree for your desired career. But you inspired me to do things differently. We used our four years to explore! Of course, that means we're both still not quite done with secondary education. I don't think we're the type of people to really mind that, though. Even while we took maximum course loads to prepare ourselves for medical school, we still managed to do some extra learning on our own terms, and have fun with it. You with make-up tutorials and musical trivia, and me with dog training videos and more musical trivia.

I missed living with you in our last year of college when you decided to move into a single. My living space was a lot cleaner after you left, but there is a comfort in familiar disorder. I'm so proud of you for not letting your academics go or isolating yourself like I did when I lived by myself during those first few months at university. We ended up forming quite the crew with the other regulars of our dorm lounge! I still refer to us as the Butches, but I think I'm the only one who does. You have this incredible ability to maintain a conversation with anyone about anything, and the formation of the Butches hinged entirely upon that talent. I don't believe any of us would have had the courage to initiate discussions with one another like you did.

I wanted to say thank you for always being your authentic self, and for encouraging me to be my authentic self. Like many others in our generation, I used to have an "adoptive personality". But the person I became in your company is the person I still am today, and I love her now as much as I love you.

Wishing you all the best,

Amelia