They are my biggest fans and my biggest critics.

Always judging, but always praising.

They make me a better student, a better friend, and most importantly, a better person.

They may not know it, but it is them that shape who I am and who I will always be.

But they are by no means perfect.

They argue, they fight, and sometimes, I can’t tell if they hate each other or love each other.

I am always amazed by their efforts to act as though nothing is wrong.

And yet their faces scream their emotions unchecked.

They are a tide, pushing and pulling, giving and taking.

They push each other just as they push me.

Challenging each other to be better, stronger.

But, for as much as they push and take from each other, they give back twice as much.

Always being there, supporting each other, coming together in times of need.

They may not see it, but they are like a stream: shifting, flowing, constantly changing yet always the same.

They make me laugh with delight, and they make me cry in anguish.

Sometimes I want to scream at them until my throat burns, and sometimes I want to hug them until we can’t breathe.

They have consoled me when I was down.

They have been there for me, and I will always be there to catch them when they fall, too.

I worry that they don’t see just how much I love them, and I worry that maybe, they don’t love me back the same way.

We may not have forever together, but I treasure the time we do have, the memories we have made, are making, and will make.

Memories of homecoming dances, and Halloween parties, summer adventures, and winter mornings spent at “our” cafe.

They drive me crazy, yet I love them and could never live without them.

They are my best friends.