I'm not really sure when I first met Carly, but according to this fifth grade yearbook photo (see below) for Young Americans club (which neither of us remember being in), we were at least aware of one another by 2001... although I clearly wanted to keep some distance. So I can't say when I first met Carly, she was just always there. And over the years we became good friends, then best friends, and then maybe blurred some lines of what a friendship really is. But at the end of the day she was always there. In high school she was there to watch The O.C. with every week and pretend like there wasn't chemistry between us. During college summers she was there to pick me up from Tom Petty concerts after I wouldn't back down from the 24oz beers. And even once we had literally moved to opposite ends of the country, she was still... there. So when we decided to move into a tiny one-bedroom apartment together after being long-distance for only a few months (sorry to our parents for that one, but hopefully this proves we knew what we were doing), Carly was really there. Like, all the time. We went from living across the country to being able to see each other at all times from any point in the apartment. We lived in a box. But it became our box. And it was in that box I really saw what else Carly was there for. She was there every night telling me about something new she read. She was there for every friend's birthday, swearing that birthdays are the most important. And she was there to be the most thoughtful, loving, smart, funny, excitable person who at the end of the day just wants everyone to be happy and have a good time. So here we are having the best time, and we're so happy you'll be here with us to celebrate.