best friends forever!...?

what exactly defines what a best friend is? how do you decide who your best friends are, and who are just your plain old friends?
what does being a best friend mean to you?
to me, a best friend is someone you trust with everything, or almost everything anyways. a best friend is someone you can go to no matter what, and know that they will listen with their full heart and mind, and tell you what you NEED to hear, rather than what you WANT to hear. a best friend is someone you know would take your place in a bad situation in a heartbeat if they could. a best friend is someone who just knows when you need a hug, and gives the best hugs on the entire planet. a best friend is someone who can brighten your day with a simple smile, or one of said hugs, no words needed. a best friend is someone that you can hang out with for hours on end, and never ever get tired of them. a best friend is someone who understands the message you are trying to send to them by just looking at them. a best friend is someone you text when you are sitting right next to them.
i have made so many friends at wayne. i have met SO many people that have touched my life, and whom i will never forget.
but aside from that, i have made some of THE best friends I think i will ever have. Everyone who will be living on my floor next year are the people I count among my good friends. But my best friends: Jill, Scott, Jeff. Those three fit every single characteristic of a best friend.
Jill: I have known her since freshman year of high school. And yet, we weren't all that close until this year. She is the best roommate anyone could possibly ask for. She is one of the most amazing women I have met in my life, and I cannot believe how lucky I am to have her in my life. She keeps me "in line" sometimes, and encourages me more than she probably knows.
Scott: I have only known him since about October. We didnt get along at first, thats for sure. A lot of crazy stuff has happened along the course of our friendship. But if anything, it has made us closer. He is someone I know I can trust with anything, and I believe the same goes for him. Through crazy girlfriends, fights, arguments, and everything else. He has remained one of the closest people to me at Wayne, and I hope that doesn't ever change.
Jeff: Jeff and I only became friends this semester pretty much. I never planned on being friends with him, and I know he never planned on being friends with me. We thought we were so different from each other that it couldn't happen, but now he is my best friend. period. There isn't that many people I can say understand me. But Jeff, along with Scott, is one of those people. "Best friends til the end of time." And I can't imagine that not coming true. Our friendship has gone through a lot, a lot more than most friendships do, but I am so grateful that nothing has torn it apart, and that no matter what, nothing can change that.
Without these three, I KNOW I wouldn't have survived this year. They all three helped my in so many different ways, and yet, all affected me the same.
In high school, my friends and I always talked about how we would stay friends forever. And now I know that that isn't completely true. Sure, I still talk to them and everything, but it isn't the same. We have all moved on, and without that happening, I don't think I would have had the opportunity to become so close to everyone at Wayne, those three especially. And now, I can't imagine life being any other way.
"A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another." John 13:34