22 things you know to be true if you’ve been besties for over a decade

Welcome to Besties Week! We’re kicking off the release of our first HelloGiggles book, A Tale of Two Besties, with an epic celebration of friendship and stories about friendship. Read an excerpt of the book, buy a copy, catch us on our cross-country book tour, and share your photos from our events by tagging us @hellogiggles #ATaleofTwoBesties.

In the meantime, join the party right here. All week long, our contributors will be sharing stories, essays and odes to their very own partners-in-crime. Read, laugh, cry (because you’re laughing so hard) and share with your bestie!

When I was 4-years-old I met a little girl named Elizabeth in ballet class. She had a short brown bob, wore pink tutus, and bossed everyone around, including the ballet teacher. She pranced when everyone else stepped, screamed when everyone whispered, and loudly talked about her dog when we were supposed to have quiet time. She was amazing and terrifying and everything I wasn’t. I was shy and quiet, she was confident and boisterous. I was a polite rule-follower, she was an unapologetic rule-ignorer. We needed each other, and 17 years later, we still do. She completes me in the weirdest and most lovely way and I am unbelievably lucky to have her special brand of crazy in my life.

When I was 5-years-old I met another little girl named Kate at kindergarten registration. While our moms were filling out boring paperwork, we hid under the table and read each other books. I knew immediately that I wanted to be Kate’s best friend. Even at 5-years-old she was a certifiable badass; she could draw, she read big books, she climbed trees and hiked trails, she killed spiders without any shrieking, and she was easily the best line leader in our grade. We quickly bonded over our shared love of Dragon Tales and coloring, and became completely inseparable. Now she goes to college across the country and she’s still the first one I call when big things happen. She inspires me to be the best version of myself and I can’t imagine life without her quiet confidence and loud snort-laugh.

Basically, I have the best best-friends in the world and I’ve been able to claim them as mine for over a decade. If you have had the same best friend for as long or longer, then you know that some weird and wonderful things start to happen with that kind of bond. Things like:

1. You know every single crush they’ve ever had and remember every romantic entanglement they’ve ever been a part of.

Remember the skater guy? I do. He smelled like beef jerky and only washed his hair on Tuesdays.

2. You have their parents’ numbers programmed into your phone.

Sometimes you just gotta chat with Deliese, you know?

3. You finish each other’s sentences so often that you secretly wonder if the the two of you have telepathic powers.

Like Edward Cullen but better.

4. You have an entire library of inside jokes and every one makes you ugly laugh to the point of tears.

OMG STOP I’M GONNA PEE!

5. You have the same enemies and have burned the same bridges.

Because if someone’s mean to one of you, they’re mean to both of you, amiright?

6. At some point you bought matching best friend necklaces/bracelets/shirts and it was a VERY big deal.

You wore them everyday and if one of you forgot there was major shade thrown across the reading rug.

7. You give each other the BEST gifts and or make each other the BEST crafts.

Elizabeth bought me an Poehler-Fey 2016 shirt and I’m never taking it off.

8. You feel no shame in double-bubble texting them until they answer.

Hey. Hi. Answer me. I have things to tell you. Important things. Right now. Wake up.

9. You’ve made extensive wedding plans including an intensive list of maid of honor perks and duties.

There will be a chocolate fountain, and if I start crying you will be right by my side reapplying my mascara and holding the hanky while I blow my nose.

10. Remember that embarrassing thing you did? They do, and they’re never letting you forget about it.

“You wore shrugs every day for a year. It was not a good look.”

11. If you live apart seeing each other in person is like Christmas, the fourth of July, and your birthday all rolled into a giant rainbow cake of love and tears and tight hugs.

REUNITED AND IT FEELS SO GOOOOOOOD.

12. You’ve borrowed something of theirs with the intention of keeping it forever.

I’m sorry but I need this shirt more than you do.

13. You have a secret best friend song that you blast in the car whenever you’re together and it often gets out of hand.

SHAKE IT OFF, SHAKE IT OFF.

14. You’ve already agreed to go to jail for each other if it ever comes down to it.

Or break each other out.

15. You know exactly what they intend to name their future children and pets.

Hilary Duff for either poodle or daughter.

16. You watch the same shows because when one of you finds a show they like they force the other one to watch it with excessive pestering.

Then you send each other show related memes and post BuzzFeed quizzes on each other’s walls to see which character you actually are.

17. You know that no matter what crazy dream you come up with they’ll support you and shut down anyone who tries to stop you.

“You are a beautiful, talented, brilliant, powerful musk ox.”

18. You’ve fought each other’s battles.

Sometimes you just need your BFF to take the reins and solve the problems.

19. You know the exact progression of the other person’s crying all the way from light sniffles to Niagara Falls explosion of tears and mucus.

You have more than one shirt with tears stains on the shoulders.

20. There’s no longer polite lying, just brutal honesty.

You’re making bad choices and you need to calm down and eat some vegetables.

21. You probably share a Netflix account and playfully judge the other’s guilty pleasures.

I see you watching Bridget Jones for the sixth time this month.

22. You hate it when they don’t like your crushes because you know they’re always right.

Always. Every flipping time.

Thanks to my besties for sticking with me all these years and congrats to all the other long-term besties out there for beating the odds and killing the game. Stay fab. Besties are the best.

Featured image [Via]