To my voice of reason–Mom

Mom, you are not always calm yourself, but you make me calm. When I am overwhelmed and upset, you make me see the problem from a smaller perspective; you never diminish my feelings but make me see it’s not as big of a deal as I am making it out to be. Thank you for always helping me even when you’re too tired for my complaints. Thank you for your never-ending support; that means so so much to me. Thank you for everything you do and have done to give me the life I am so lucky to have. Thank you for passing on your love of reading and Harry Potter. Thank you for helping me stay calm. Thank you, mom. 

To my biggest fan–Dad

You support everything I do and attempt, and I am so thankful for that. When I wanted to start a podcast, you jumped at the chance to help me; you gave me everything I needed to be successful in the podcast and in life. I will always be grateful for the life you provide for me and the unconditional love you have for me. I know who I want to be in life because of you. I aspire to be as kind, loving, funny, and involved as you are. Thank you for everything. 

To my complete opposite–my sister: Lulu

You and I may look similar (yes, Lu, we look almost the same), but we are nothing alike. I love our differences, and I love how we are learning to allow our differences to make our relationship stronger. You and I are stuck together for life, and I am so grateful that you were born four years after me. Thank you for putting up with all the drama that comes with being my sister and best friend. 

To my jester–my brother: Wyatt 

Well, you can annoy me to no end, and you can also make me hysterically laugh. You have the sweetest soul and just want to make everyone around you laugh. I hope your pure soul never changes. I am so grateful for every moment I have with you and all of the laughs we have shared and will share. Thank you for being the jokester of the family and lighting up our nights. 

To my icons–Aunt TT, Aunt Holly, and Aunt Kate

I am so thankful I was blessed with you guys as my aunts. I genuinely could not imagine not having you in my life. Aunt Holly—thank you for being a voice of reason in my life; I appreciate (and mostly remember)  every piece of advice you have ever given me. Aunt TT, thank you for being the life of the party, I know where Wyatt got his humor. You are the most compassionate person I know, and I am so thankful for being one of the people in your life who gets to experience your love and caring nature. Aunt Kate, thank you; you are one of my biggest role models in life, and I see you as my best friend and my aunt. You are such a generous and loving person, and I will forever be grateful that I get to be loved by you. Thank you for everything. 

To my nail partners–Pappa and Papa

Thank you so much for everything you do for me. I am so thankful for every moment spent with both of you. Pappa– I love every Skip-Bo game we play; you can always put a smile on my face even when I’m feeling especially moody. Thank you for teaching me my favorite card game. Thank you for every coffee run and impromptu visit. I am so thankful you are in my life. Papa–I love every nail appointment with you; thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to sit and talk with me. I know you are never too busy for me, and I am so thankful for that. Thank you for always looking out for me and always having the perfect advice when I need it. 

To my cookie lover–Grandma Kristen 

Thank you for always having a smile, hug, and cookie whenever I get to see you. Thank you for all the kiddie cocktails and boat rides. I love getting to go up north and sit on the porch and just talk. Thank you for taking me with you to the store and for letting me tag along on car rides to go get pizza or a golf cart ride to Uncle Dusty. Thank you for giving me such a sweet tooth. Thank you for all the hugs. Thank you, Grandma. 

To my most sarcastic teacher–Mr. Pierce

Even though I don’t have you as a teacher this year, you still take time out of your morning to talk to me and remember details about my elaborate stories. Thank you for being one of my favorite teachers for the past three years of high school. Thank you for being the reason I found my love for psychology and a calling in life. 

To the most creative people I know– the TCT staff

Thank you for making my last hour of my last year so amazing. Arpita Das–thank you for your dedication to the class and the people in it. Alex Smith–thank you for your compassion and willingness to help everyone and anyone. Alysse Calabio–thank you for being the actual sweetest person I know and for being one of the reasons I am a better writer than I was even yesterday; your words have and will always inspire me. Ellerie Knowles–I always look forward to seeing your kind smile; thank you for your seemingly endless limit of kindness. Ella Peirce, Addie Woltil, and Evvy Alt—thank you three for being the most hardworking sophomores I know; I cannot wait to see how much you guys will accomplish. Eva LaBeau–thank you for always helping others; you sometimes put others above yourself too much, but your kind heart is always appreciated. Mikayla Bush–thank you for your creativity; I look forward to reading all of your stories because they always differ and involve something I usually don’t know much about. Ava Tilley–thank you for always helping others and bringing a smile to every class period. Saniya Mishra–thank you for every laugh you have been the cause of, your writing makes me cry, but your words make me laugh endlessly. Kiera Kemppainen–thank you for always making me laugh in fifth hour and for updating the word of the day. Thank you for always editing my stories, and thank you for being one of the reasons I stayed with TCT after freshman year; without you, I might not be in the class today. 

To my first favorite teacher–Mr. George

Thank you for being the reason I have grown so much as a writer and as a person. I love coming into your room before first hour and being able to complain or celebrate small and big moments of my life. Thank you for always listening. I spend two hours and 30 minutes in your room every weekday, and I love it. Thank you for giving me a space, room, and people to call home at school. Every year, you start the class with, “Welcome home,” and in your room, that sentence rings true. Thank you for making TCT and your classroom home to me. If it weren’t for you, my words would only be my own, and now, I can share them with everyone. Thank you for being my favorite teacher all four years of high school. 

To my fellow editors—Sofia Hargis-Acevedo and Eva Harshman

Thank you for struggling with me. This year has been hard, and I would not make it through it without you guys. I love dying of laughter on the couch and then getting a look from Mr. George for being too loud. Thank you for making my day. Eva–I can’t thank you enough. You are an amazing writer and person. Thank you for being my rock and pushing me to be a better writer for four years. You make TCT, and I wish you were in sixth hour every day. Thank you for suffering with me. Sofia–I can’t believe we barely talked before this year, but I am so glad we talk every day now. Thank you for always being able to make me laugh and for your random cartwheels in the middle of class. Thank you for showing me how to be an editor and keeping the energy light and fun in fifth and sixth hour. Thank you both for being amazing people. I am so glad we get to spend our last year on TCT together. 

To my rays of sunshine–Mia and Edie 

Thank you girls for your positive attitude. Mia–you are always smiling and are simply the sweetest girl. Thank you for being so kind to everyone in your life. Edie–thank you for walking out of school with me every day; it makes the walk a lot easier. Thank you for being down to go on any errand I may have to run and for making car rides extra fun. Thank you, girls, for riding to and from school with me–it adds a ray of sunshine to my day. 

To my movie buddy and my favorite runner–Chiara Bergsma and Peyton Ludwig 

I am so thankful to be friends with you both and I am so glad I get to spend my last high school events with you guys. Chiara–thank you for making third hour bearable and for simply being a fun person to be around. Peyton–I will always find it funny that we became friends after I dated your brother, but thank you for being my friend. You are so sweet and welcoming to everyone; you just have such a kind soul. Thank you for always being kind to me and making track meets better. I am so thankful to spend my senior year with you both. 

To my secret weapon in math–Claire Mast

I will never get over not having math together this year, but I will always be thankful for the two years we did. I am so glad I met you; you are so kind and so funny. I always find myself laughing when I am with you. I genuinely don’t think I can be in a bad mood when I am with you. Thank you for getting me through math last year and for being such a great person to be around. 

To my delulu twin—Kendall Gleason

Thank you for being just as delulu as I am. I am so thankful you came to Schnitz and into my life. And I am even more thankful we are better friends now. I am so thankful for every lunch spent with you even when you won’t stop signing Taylor Swift. Thank you for being your chaotic, delulu self. 

To my car ride stealer—Marie Betz 

I tried to get away from you in elementary school, and now, I can’t remember why. It might be because I sensed you would need to be driven everywhere at 18. Though I complain and tell you to go get your license, and though you are usually a little late, I don’t completely mind driving you. You are such a fun person, and you always have a story to leave me shocked and in hysterics. Thank you for not having a filter and keeping my car rides interesting. 

To my giant–Natalie Hedger

Thank you for always being in my life even though we have no classes together and no longer play the same sport. I look forward to seeing you stop by at lunch almost every day. I am so thankful for each football game we spend together. Thank you for staying in my life even though we barely have time to see each other. Thank you for being such a supportive and amazing friend. I am so thankful for the time we spent on the court together that made it so our friendship is still strong today. 

To my other half–Mahta Poostizadeh

To think you once thought me weird and annoying and that now we are best friends. I am so thankful for you. I honestly don’t know how to go one day without talking to you even if we only communicate through text and TikToks. Thank you for letting me steal some of your musical taste and introducing me to more movies and shows. Thank you for our random rants about movies to people in our lives. Thank you for showing me how to disagree with someone and still love them through Taylor Swift. Thank you for always listening to me rant, complain, or ramble. I don’t know how I will survive college without you, but I know we will always stay friends; we have gone a year without talking before, and we can go a few years only communicating over the phone. Thank you for being in my life and dealing with my crazy–it’s only fair since I have to deal with yours. 

To my ride or die–Hannah Levering

How do I even explain how thankful I am to have you as my best friend? We completely get each other, and I know no other friendship we go on to form will compare with the one we share. I am so thankful for the 11 years we have been friends. Thank you for the Harry Potter marathons, LEGO building, shopping, binging, eating, working, and everything we do together. You are the first person I think to call when I need to run an errand or do literally anything, and I am so thankful for all the mundane trips we make together. I can’t believe we won’t be neighbors next year and that I won’t be able to walk home at midnight after watching a movie and eating ice cream for the second night in a row, we both need to get better at texting each other next year. Thank you for being a constant in my life and understanding me in a way no one else can. I can’t picture my life without you being a part of it. Thank you for everything you have done for me and for understanding me. Thank you for every random movie night, every trip up north, every time we failed at golfing, and every moment we shared from first grade to now. Thank you for dealing with my crazy and being crazy right along with me.