my older sister | we met at the hospital shortly after my birth where she attempted to pack my mother's suitcase and insisted they leave me there | most of the time I love her and the other half I hate her, but she's my built-in best friend and I wouldn't change it for the world | I had the honor (literally) of being her Maid of Honor in her wedding to Aaron in 2022, so now it's her turn to do the same for me | she's the reason I found my wedding dress and didn't settle

my baby brother | we met shortly after his birth at the hospital, sometime after we had breakfast with Santa | we have always been very similar in that we liked to read and were creative and never shut our GD mouths | he's literally the most intelligent and compassionate human being I have ever met and I am incredibly proud of the person that he has grown up to be, so there's no way I would be able to do this without him

my best friend | we met in college as we lived directly across the hall from one another freshman year and then as roommates the rest of our time at Purdue | while we no longer live within seconds of one another, we are in constant communication and have essentially never lost touch since meeting | we have matching tattoos of the day we met, VIII-XXIV-MMXVI, as well as "whenever, wherever" | we're always just a phone call away, even though she sometimes gets sent to voicemail and she reminds me how much she hates my "British man" aka Siri

my soul sister | she was my first real friend at Purdue and was in my BGR (welcome week) group | we bonded over having both grown up Lutheran and stayed close throughout the rest of college, our apartment buildings were even just across the alley from one another | I spent quite a bit of time hanging out with Michelle at her apartment, doing homework, watching movies, or sitting in her bed while she cleaned her room | we aren't always in constant communication, but we're never out of step and fall right back into it anytime we catch up

my bookish bestie | we met on my first day at Legends (my current employer) as she was in the marketing department and had the same role as me | we bonded over rootbeer and The Vampire Diaries and sharing an office that we slowly turned into the best place to hangout during the workday | there's rarely a day where we've gone without interacting ever since | she's abandoning me for a new career path but has assured me I'm never getting rid of her

my future sister-in-law | we met one day when Mitch (her boyfriend, Graham's twin) came to Graham's dorm to retrieve something from their parents | we really clicked the first Fourth of July we spent with the Palins when we stayed up until 5:30 am talking about our lives and experiences, and found out we had a lot more in common than our taste in men | grateful to Mitch that he brought such a beautiful person into my life

my partner in crime | we met through Michelle as they played volleyball together at Purdue and were good friends, and even became roommates our fourth year | we've both joked that we never thought we'd see each other again, but then we both found ourselves in Northwest Indiana | we've gotten close since I moved in with Graham as she lives in the apartment complex down the road | we spend our time with our pups, playing volleyball, eating food, and watching girly movies

my other half | we met when she shadowed at my middle school before she transferred when I think we were like 11 | we grew up together in so many ways - we went to school together, played sports together, she was around so much that my parents considered her their third daughter | we haven't spent as much time together since graduating high school, but we never fail to pick right up where we left off when we get back together

my boilermaker bestie | we met on my second day of classes freshman year at Purdue in our COM114 class (aka Speech) | we soon bonded over our love for Starbucks, trips to Target and shared distaste for certain professors and classes we were taking | we were not only in the same major in the Krannert School of Management (RIP) but we added on a minor in Communication, and therefore scheduled 90% of our classes together