Last week, someone linked to this article on Facebook, and I couldn’t help but repost it. While there are a lot of people important to me in my life, there are two that had the distinct pleasure of being my roommates for two years in college – my friends Amy and Sarah.

These two women mean the world to me. they not only taught me about friendship, but they let me learn to be myself – with no judgement. They’re the girls I went to class and worked on projects with. We screamed for our Hokies in Lane Stadium. We went to countless frat parties together. We drank cheap margaritas in our apartment before we headed downtown for the night, inevitably ending up at Joe’s Diner with me at 3am so we could have cheesy eggs.

We hung out in bed just talking. We fought, but always found a way to make up. We played pranks on others…and had pranks played on us. Together we made it through the crazy drama of our third roommate (suffice it to say, she had some mental health issues at the time). We threw a PJ party one year, and in the course of being roommates, we acquired more than one sign. Leaving them and our little apartment was life-changing when I graduated. After all, I’d never live with them again.

Throughout it all, we never judged each other and our differences. I was the caretaker, even being called “mama Jess.” Sarah was always up for anything. Amy worked harder than either of us to stay in journalism, and did it for a long time. We went through life changes and boy drama. Through it all, we’ve helped each other do better and be better. These are truly the girls I found myself with during college (in every sense of the word) – and share countless memories and inside jokes with. I love them both more than I can say.

We used to predict what would happen in our futures. While some predictions came true (like me having a baby first), others didn’t. Nowadays, we’re all married with a child. It pains me that we live so far from one another, and I wish I could see them all the time like I used to. The thing about college friends though? Once we’re together, it’s like nothing’s changed – we’re still those crazy girls we were, just trying to grow into the women we’ll be.