All the glorious perks of having a lifelong BFF

I met my BFF in preschool; so, suffice to say, we go way back. I can’t actually remember not knowing her, because she’s pretty much always been a constant presence in my life. She is my person, and I am hers, and that’s just how it is.

We’re going on a little more than 20 years of friendship now — which feels like a ridiculous amount of time to me — and every second of our bestie-hood today feels like a reflection of everything we’ve been through together. And while I’ve made many wonderful, important, smart, funny, and generally flawless friends since, there’s something that comes with knowing someone for practically your whole life that feels extra super special.

Here are just a few of the raddest parts of having a lifelong bestie!

1.  You never run out of things to talk about. You just have way too much material to work with.

2.  The number of inside jokes you have? The limit does not exist. They’re seamlessly peppered throughout every conversation you have to the point where you’re almost speaking your own personal bestie dialect.

3.  You have a wealth of adorable childhood pictures together. And you better believe you never get tired of how darn cute you two were as little bb BFFs.

4.  There’s zero judgment between you, ever. Let’s be honest: they’ve probably already seen you through some rough moments (like that time you had a homesick meltdown at your very first sleepover party. . . or, you know, the entirety of your 21st birthday).

5.  And there’s no need to impress. Bring on the sweatpants and weird homemade face masks!

6.  You went through your awkward phases together. Which means you can both fully appreciate the flawless humans you are today.

7.  They probably know or know of every person you’ve ever met in your entire life. That’s a lot of people. (Bonus: it makes telling stories super easy because they actually know who you’re talking about.)

8.  Their family is your family. At this point, you’re basically siblings. You feel just as comfortable at their parents’ place as you do at your own home (and therefore just as comfortable raiding the fridge, obviously).

9.  There’s no such thing as owing money. The running tab between you is infinite, and you’ve loaned each other a couple dollars here and there so many times that it all evens out in the end.

10.  Borrowing things is no big deal. Because you know you’ll get it back, even if it takes years — and if you don’t, you know where they live (and where their parents live), and you will probably see them tomorrow, anyway. Your closet and your bookshelf and your movie collection all double in size, and it feels so right.

11.  “TMI” does not exist between you. You turn to your BFF before you turn to WebMD, and your friendship takes intimacy to a whole new level.

12.  You’ve mastered all the techniques for a perfect long distance relationship — with each other. Likely, at some point the two of you were living in different cities and/or just separated for more than a couple days. You had to make due, and you always figured out how to make time for one another, regardless of the distance.

13.  Even if you don’t see each other for a while, it’s like no time has passed when you’re reunited. There’s never any weirdness, and time apart just gives you even more to talk about.

14.  You always have someone to reminisce with. Sometimes you just feel a little nostalgic and want to talk about the good ‘ol days. No one is more perfect for this than a lifelong BFF who was there with you for all of it.

15.  Whether or not your hometown is boring, it’s always super fun with them. You have tons of secret haunts and favorite hangout spots (even if they’re just the local mall and/or nearest open field of grass) — and you always know the best places to get tasty, cheap food.

16.  There’s no such thing as an awkward silence. Sometimes, you just want to be quiet — and it’s not because you’ve run out of things to say. Just being around each other is totally enough.

17.  They’re proof that “soulmates” don’t have to be romantic. No one gets you like they do, and even if you don’t believe in fate, it does kind of feel like a gift from the universe that by chance you came into one another’s lives (. . . for the entirety of one another’s lives).

18.  It kind of feels like nothing can come between you. Because likely, you’ve already been through it all.

19.  You get to watch one another grow up. Let’s take a moment to realize how wild it is to know someone from when they were just a wee thing to when they actually became a real adult human with a place in society. It’s an amazing thing to witness — and it’s exciting to know you still have so much more to go.

(Image via FOX.)