To Life,
We have never exchanged words, and yet, I hear all of your stories passed around.
Our eyes have never met, and yet, I see bits and pieces of you scattered all around me.
We have never come close, and yet, I feel all of the differences you have made.
I have never met you, and I probably never will, but you have changed me in ways I could never express; you cultivated me into who I am today and watched as I took root and bloomed.
You watched as I bloomed into the writer I am today. The tales of princesses from faraway lands and gallant battle scenes adorned the dreams of a younger me—taking inspiration from all of the stories you had sown before.
Countless journals and diaries attest to the hope that all of those undiscovered destinations and adventures would one day be unveiled to all.
Now, those stories of worlds once unbeknownst to others dance across the pages they now call their home, shown to all who are willing to listen. What I had once believed to be a dream only known to the brightest star, now has become something I can call my reality.
You cultivated me into who I am today and watched as I took root and bloomed.
You watched as I bloomed into the friend I am today. With each person you have surrounded me with, I have learned to love: to love the differences that make up each person, to love the little moments that bring everyone together, to love the small inside jokes I know will make sense to no one but my friends.
Whether they are a person I will only ever know in passing or a person I know will be with me until forever, each interaction has shown me how to love the little things around me—to love the people around me.
You have watched as I bloomed into the person I am today.
From the girl who once spent endless hours with her nose stuck in a book to the girl who spent hours surrounding herself with all the friends she holds dear.
From the girl who feared sleeping in the dark to the girl who takes solace in the calm night skies.
From the girl who only cared about the next time she would get to play to the girl who cares about all that happens in the world.
And through every moment of it, there was you.
All of my hopes and dreams, all of my ups and my downs, all of my loves and losses, you have been there through it all, waiting forever in my corner.
Because of you, I have grown. Because of you, I have changed. Because of you, I am me. And for that, I am forever grateful.
Love always,
Alysse
