Try looking at someone without ever getting to know them. The guy with thick glasses carrying the pre-calculus book is too smart to be interesting to you. The bubbly cheerleader with blonde hair and blue eyes couldn't be nice, she's just too pretty.

Now look at your friends. If one of them shaved his head to look like Vin Diesel, would you like him any less? If your best friend got braces, would you drop her? The answer, of course, is no. Your friends are people you like because of who they are, and how they help you and each other, not the way they talk, look, dress or speak.

My friends matter to me because they don't care that my mood jumps when I eat a chocolate bar. They matter to me because they don't tell me to shut up when I complain about homework or teachers. They matter to me because they're there, praying with me when my grandmother was ill. They matter to me because they got me through my first month of high school – the hardest month of my life. They matter to me because they supported me when I thought there was no reason to like myself, or anything I did.

For their love and support I cannot express how intensely thankful I am. For their advice, trust and encouragement, there is no equal.

When they tell me, "You can do it," I respond, "Because you believe in me." To every "Congratulations," I add "Because you supported me." For every "Thank you," I reply "You deserved it."

Without their support, I wouldn't be able to follow my musical dreams. Without their belief, I wouldn't make it on the honour roll. Without their trust, I wouldn't know how to react to a request for secrecy.

I need my friends for every hug and cheer they've granted me. I thank them for all their encouragement. I adore my friends for every joke they have told me. I cherish my friends for every invitation they've sent me. I treasure my friends for the forgiveness they've granted me. I respect my friends for their putting up with my forgetfulness. I love my friends for everything they've ever given to me. Thank you.