My countless thank yous go out…

To Autumn, for giving me the absolute best GAHA moments

You could easily just revisit my Countless Thanks from 2023 to get a solid idea of how I feel about our 11-year friendship. However, because I have a seemingly endless treasure chest of our memories together, let this be a longer sequel to last year’s piece. 

Just from last November until the present, I can fill pages with my gratitude for the moments we’ve spent together—which I have, as you know, no shortage of. 

In this period, I have most loved experiencing tumultuousness with you. While you are likely going to look up from reading this to scoff at me for using “big words,” it’s the most fitting one to describe our past year. Running from activity to activity—when we both knew that we had 478 tasks we had to do at home—and 684 other things we’d rather be doing besides. Rushing to finish “fruitless” math homework, scrambling to make our sentences satisfactory for another article. Running to practices and performances and random excursions. It was (and still can be) chaos. But, it was mutually shared chaos, which made it 100x more tolerable. 

I am excited that you are jamming your senior year with the maximum amount of activities possible, but it’s unfortunate nonetheless that this has to occupy the beginning and end of the school day. Some of my most cherished times with you are in those eight minutes it takes us to get to and from school. In the mornings, this means trudging out of my warm kitchen and into the crispness of the dark mornings, rarely without a wearied expression on my face. We bring our amassments of random thoughts, stories that have each other on the edges of our seats, and complaints to share. While our mornings together still happen on occasion, I miss your daily evaluations of my outfits. With comments ranging from “Hey, that’s a winner of an outfit!” to a more degrading, “Wow,” I got my first indication as to whether my outfit would be worthy of a re-wearing. Playing our mutually adored, sometimes bizarre anthems to get us motivated for the nine-ish hour day ahead of us, we’ve chatted about virtually anything and everything. While our once beloved Instagram times got increasingly shorter—eventually ceasing to exist (you’re welcome)—and our completion of NYT games became less regular, we found better ways to spend our scarce minutes before the bell. Only complete by rushing into school to bug Ms. Beckett, I love the mornings we have spent—and will continue to spend sporadically—together. 

Continuing on with the course of our school days, last year was finally the year we got classes together. AP Sem was quite a transformative experience (see below) and being in TCT with you was a top element of my sophomore year. On the topic of, I’m still slightly annoyed that you quit. Regardless, I loved when we bounced story ideas off of each other, complained about our tragically disarrayed articles that had approaching deadlines, and were the first people to read each others’ stories. I loved writing our separate pieces and stopping incrementally to ask each other questions, with “The O.C.” playing in the background. I miss leaving comments on my stories meant for you to stumble across and making 100 suggestions on stories like “The skein of yarn is slowly diminishing” because you switch the meaning of the yarn metaphor three different times throughout 500 words, and us both vowing to stop using words like “abundance” and “plethora”.

In terms of after-school activities, I’ve appreciated you being there for both our cheer season and the fifth graders’ cheer season. Obviously, next year will feel incomplete without you giving me rides to practices and being beside me on the sidelines. As for the soon-to-be sixth graders, you’ll just have to make it out to our early morning games to see how much Coach Elle will improve the team. In all reality, I’m glad that we signed up to teach our kids together because—especially for the first year—I cannot imagine learning to be a coach alongside anyone else. While we undoubtedly had our low points, I’d say we ended up as successful, and much improved, instructors. 

Perhaps most in the little moments, I’m grateful for you. Even if some of the things you say make no sense, I appreciate your ridiculousness. Without your nonsensical comments, my favorite controversial political statement shirt would be just another item in my closet, and fruitless would never be my go-to way to describe money. You’re the only one who knows the depths of my listening habits on Spotify because you listen to the same atrocious music. And, I love how we continue to share our passion for Just Dance: discussing our opinions on new dances, demoing them on car rides, and eventually adopting each other’s favorites. 

Aside from the plethora (see what I did there?) of memories we have together, I’m thankful for the ways you’ve changed me. You inspire me to spend less and less time thinking about anyone else’s opinion, forge strong bonds with people I barely yet know, and embrace my passions—full out. 

To Chloe, for being the Serena to my Blair

While I know you have yet to watch Gossip Girl, that will not stop me from using this analogy to describe our friendship. Over the years we’ve accumulated and embodied our fair share of dynamics but, to date, this is the most accurate. 

It fits because you are the bubbly, outgoing blonde, and I am the generally reserved, fashion-loving brunette. And we both get into Ivy League schools!

On a deeper level, even more than these TV show characters, we have a strong bond built on loyalty to one another. I know that, more than anyone else, you are trustworthy. You are the person who will give me the most reassuring comfort and rational advice. Even if I send you a 6-minute or longer rant about whatever happened to be on my mind during the day, you’ll listen to it and respond with genuine care. 

Even in the little things, you express such warmth. Like when you protest against me turning off my comments on an Instagram post because that would prevent you from leaving your well-thought-out, on-theme jokes and compliments for me. In person, even if I can tell that my outfit is something you would never wear, you still make sure to point out some aspect you respect about it every morning. 

I genuinely have never had a friend who has supported me as much as you do. If we take the same test, and I do well, but you aren’t as satisfied with your score, you still make sure to congratulate me. In reverse situations, when I don’t get the grade I may have wanted on an assessment, you inspire me to approach the situation as you would. Aside from academics, you make sure to ask me how my days go, support me in my passion projects, and let me rave or rant about whatever piece of media I may be consuming at the given time.

In the past year, I’ve enjoyed the activities we’ve done together. During football games, I love looking up into the student section to find that you’re doing the cheers right along with me. I’m so glad that you’re willing to try new experiences for and with me—I’m looking forward to more Sunday nights with you. While we continue on with our zero classes together, I love that we’ve taken on Spanish Club at the same time. 

One hypothetical situation I think about often—which I know we’ve discussed before—goes like this: if someone were to tell you that you remind them of your best friend, would that be a compliment? For me, I can confidently say that I would answer this question with a yes. 

Seeing your successes (like being the best Genghis Khan prosecutor of our time) gives me a sense of pride, as I know how diligently you work. While this year may or may not be the year I make it out into the cold to watch you ski race, I will continue to support your tennis career—both virtually and in person. With academics, athletics, and otherwise, your dedication stays the same. Being around you motivates me to be the smartest, most committed I can be, and for this, I am so immensely grateful. 

To Ian, for making me laugh so hard you trigger my asthma 

To start, you’re one of the funniest people I know—both intentionally and unintentionally. I don’t always understand the references you make, but I appreciate how you keep me in the loop with your internet jokes. You often make out-of-context statements that I will gawk at in the moment, but, if nothing else, your boldness in conversation makes for hilarious stories. 

Spontaneous people are debatably my favorite type to be around, and, consequently, I love being around you. You encourage me to lose my sense of rationality, even if your attempts at persuasion don’t always work on me. Regardless, you are the first person I’d choose to attend a concert with (who are we buying tickets for in 2025?) or dance at Homecoming with. From chatting with native Spanish speakers in Starbucks to sending me hilarious audio messages to DIY-ing your T-shirts on car rides, your last-minute actions will never cease to alarm me while simultaneously making me laugh. 

While I barely knew you last year, I’ve already adopted your mannerisms and way of speaking. Whenever I offer up a silent side eye and grin in judgment, just know that’s because of you. The same goes for the way I phrase my sentences—my syntax, a development I’ve only noticed recently. Your way with words, let’s say, is subconsciously affecting mine.  

I’m grateful you’ve joined Book Club with me, even though you hate reading and “don’t currently identify with any of the little women.” I also enjoy attending Spanish Club with you, despite the way you’ve used it as an opportunity to make fun of my selfies. As for during school, you undoubtedly make my classes much more exciting while making sure—for better or worse—that I get little work done.

As we’ve established, I have an extremely short social battery, but hanging out with you is one of the few appealing pre-planned events I look forward to. I’m not one to become immediately close with new people, but that has happened with us nonetheless—something I’m extremely thankful for. The way you manage to be friendly with 64838 different people inspires me to be more outgoing, and you bring out the hidden extrovert in me. Somehow, with our different personalities, we are all the more compatible. 

I am thankful for our hallway walks and hangouts and, just so you know, this is that TCT story you told me to write about our friendship. 

To Victoria, for “living life on the edge”

Tell me if you get the reference. 

While your persistence about (often) far-fetched ideas can elicit an eye roll on my part, I’m grateful you frequently share your ambitious plans with me. If you read this and question what I’m talking about, just know I mean a variety of situations, ranging from you bugging me to bring you Crumbl during school to plans dating all the way back to the night before sophomore year when you were undertaking 80-ish pages of APUSH to many, many situations that all involve Europe. While I will not discredit you—I respect the getting up at 3 a.m. to study situation from last week—the confidence you have in your abilities is something I find both admirable and amusing. 

On a serious note, I appreciate that we share a talent for coming up with elaborate aspirations—many of which revolve around post-graduation life. You never know, maybe our cross-country meetups in Europe will happen someday. Since we’ve already started working on my French language skills, fluency can’t be that far away—Salut!

While the future is uncertain, I am thankful I’ve been able to spend quite a sizable portion of the last year with you. We’ve had our fair share of fantastic—and horrible, but hilarious in retrospect—experiences, most of which would be much less memorable if I had no one to share them with. For starters, AP Sem (see below) would have likely been just another class if we hadn’t ended up in third hour together. As for APES, I think I would have lost all of my sanity had you not been there, going through a mirror experience to mine. I am grateful I have had someone who would laugh at the incomprehensible events I witnessed throughout the school year—and share similar stories with me. 

Outside of school, I appreciate you helping to restore my love for biking. I think I biked our loop no less than 20 times in the last year, but I loved having you as my Strava buddy to both compete and share successes with. In addition, playing pickleball—another activity to bring out my competitive spirit—is an activity that will have to persist once it warms up again. 

Even though I was the one driving, I’m grateful that my spring and summer were filled with our food-related excursions, movie nights, church outings, reading sessions, and other odd experiences. 

To 75% Collegiative, for everything except PT 1

Even though I previously thanked both of you, after the year we had, 75% Collegiative deserves a section of its own. 

We all know that AP Sem made me want to tear my hair out and scream at our whole group on a virtually daily basis. But, we also all know how much I cherished my time in that class. While I wouldn’t go back and do it again, the day we finished PT 1 was one of the most relieving of my year thus far. And, as someone wisely put it, I will be forever glad to be done with those dang slides!

Even so, I wish I still spent my third hours with you two for an innumerable amount of reasons—only some of which I will list:

• Autumn and I basically co-writing each other’s PT 2 presentations to the point where we could essentially perform two projects (Do you remember what three numerical facts I began mine with?)
• Learning to take difficulties (academic papers) bird by bird
• My love for Sofia Coppola’s cinematic designs
• The sneetches sharing lesson
• Fidgeting with tablets while presenting
• Everything that went wrong in book clubs

On a serious note, I have never had so much fun in a class—and this is coming from someone who enjoys school. But, while third hour was memorable, our outside excursions might’ve been even better. 

Spending hours on weekends, after school, and following exams together aided my spontaneity while draining all of my energy through laughing (wheezing). With you two, I think we all got our yearly dose of playground outings and venti chocolate frappuccinos (well, one of us at least). 

To Maggie, for math classes and movies

I’m grateful that you’ve been a constant in my life since kindergarten. While we’ve had countless fun times, in specifically from the past year, I’m thankful for our horror movie nights, math class discussions, and miscellaneous excursions. 

I’m appreciative that you’re willing to be a host for post-dance sleepovers and put up with us (Ian) in your house. I loved attending the Sweat Tour with you, and I look forward to more, similar experiences. In the summer, when your schedule didn’t seem to be as full of swimming events, I enjoyed our pickleball and biking, more of which will come in the next year. 

I’m glad we save each other from being in an isolated corner alone in AP Precalc—even if your protein drinks would get stolen regardless. 

To Ally, for card games and spilled ice cream

Going on 11 years of friendship, and my gratitude for you persists. I am so thankful that college hasn’t taken you away from me. I love when we catch up, and you explain to me the new interests you’re exploring and avenues you’re pursuing. Maybe it’s because of your artist side, but you have such attentiveness to detail in what you choose to do. Whether soup-making or tattooing, your authentic passion is uplighting to see. Possibly more than anyone else I know, you follow what makes you happy, and you inspire me to do the same. 

I love how you appreciate and romanticize the small aesthetics of Michigan and nature as a whole. I strive to have this same appreciation for the beauty around me, for you are much better at stopping and acknowledging the specialness of a moment than I am. Our Five Crowns Nights sitting in your car trunk are some of the most quintessential summer moments I have, and I look forward to more seasons of the same. 

Even if I can’t count on you to shuffle cards (that was a joke), I know I can count on you for rational, well-thought-out advice. Like my mom used to call us as kids, I am grateful that you are my summer sister. 

To TCT, for community

I’m so fortunate to not only write for our newspaper but to also be part of the community that goes along with it. Maylee, I don’t believe I’ve yet mentioned this to you, but I manifested our friendship. Last year, I made a list of a few people I wanted to become friends with, one of which was you.

While I’m sure some of our friendship is due to probability—being on a newspaper staff together—I am immensely grateful that we’ve renewed the companionship we started in elementary school. In TCT, you are an amazing first editor. Even though I have a tendency to write much more than necessary—and I leave many comments with questions for you to answer—you virtually always edit my stories within a solid three hours of me asking you, no matter what day it is. Aside from editing, I love chatting with you about new ideas we have for TCT, whatever went on in AP World, and the platforms we use to track our media consumption, among other things. I am grateful we have spearheaded Book Club together, and I am excited to further develop it with you. I admire your passion for reading, and how you actually make time to read at school. When editing, I look forward to reading the stories you articulate with such beauty and care, and I am excited for us to grow as writers together. Evelyn, you express such passion for the things you love. Listening to your enthusiasm for your favorite movies, classic books, music artists, and presidents makes my days brighter. You and Maylee together fuel my (bitter)sweet nostalgia for our past year of APUSH—whether for better or worse. I enjoy chatting with you in Spanish, and I am thankful we ended up in 5th hour together. Rowan, I love to see how caring you are to the people around you and the enthusiasm you have for your favorite music and books. Addie, I enjoy sitting next to you in class, knowing that I have a friendly face next to me to chat with. I am thankful for Alex, Kathryn, Rosary, and everyone else in TCT who I get the opportunity to talk with and know better on a daily basis. Lastly, Mr. George, I am grateful for the enthusiasm and open-mindedness you bring to TCT. I appreciate how willing you are to discuss improvements we can make to the newspaper and for the individual attention you give to each member of the TCT staff every day. You encourage us to grow both as writers and people, and, even though this is your first year at FHC, I know you are already becoming one of the best teachers in the school. 

To Lauren, for our future cosmetology appointments

I can say with absolute confidence that you have made my high school cheer experience significantly brighter. From being shy underclassmen, new to the team, together, to now being upperclassmen who have been in the program for longer than most, you’ve been literally by my side. When we were freshman and sophomore, I knew that I had at least one person who knew how I was feeling. The only regret I have is not overcoming my shyness sooner, for I think we both could’ve benefitted starting off our first high school season as companions. I don’t want to dwell on the fact that you’ll be leaving me next year, but I will miss our practice debriefs, stunting endeavors, and karaoke. 

More recently, I’m grateful that our friendship has exceeded being solely about cheer. It means a lot that you ask me for advice, and that I can try to help you with whatever issue you happen to be dealing with. It’s exciting to see your successes, and just know I will be rooting for you as you pursue your future in cosmetology. Based on the makeup and hairstyles you already know how to almost flawlessly execute on yourself, and the braids you so kindly assist me with, I assure you that I’ll be a top customer in your future salon. 

To FHC Cheerleading, for seven sideline seasons

While I’ve been cheering since 4th grade, I can confidently say that this is the year in which I have bonded with my teammates the most. I’m thankful for both those who I’ve continued cheering with and the new members who joined this season.

Ava, I am so glad you tried out for the team this year and that we have, consequently, become closer. I am in awe of your immense creativity, whether that be expressed through makeup, art projects, or otherwise. In addition, your ability to be friends with virtually anyone is something I aspire to have myself. I am excited to have you by my side for our senior season, and, in the meantime, to see you every Sunday.

Ayla, I have loved getting to know you better this season. You have become such an asset to our team—particularly in stunting—and I know you will be an amazing top cheerleader next year. I admire your commitment to the sport because, even when virtually everyone else is complaining, you just grin and bear it. Outside of cheer skills, your dry sense of humor is one of my favorite aspects of games—making the cold of the recent ones more bearable. I look forward to leading the team with you when we are seniors and, for now, bonding over our thoughts on Little Women. 

While I’m not sure how many of you will ever stumble across this, Class of 2032 cheerleaders, Coach Autumn and I are fortunate to have ended up with you all. You are rambunctious and crazy most days, and like to overwhelm us coaches, but you are all simultaneously genuine in your respective ways. I’ve enjoyed seeing your progression—both in cheer and socially—and look forward to one last season as your coach. 

To my friends, for being the people I share my school days with

I’m thankful for the many people whom I chat with on the daily, have in my classes, eat lunch with, and attend after-school activities beside. Shanza, I’m grateful we sit together in Spanish and can become better speakers through our jumbled, half-incorrect Spanglish. I’m glad I have you as a partner on our tennis team, and I am excited for our last JV season together. Dia, you are one of the most interesting and funny people I talk to during the day. I am grateful I have you to endure AP Research with me, even though we get too distracted talking to actually do work during the hour. I love discussing odd topics that I wouldn’t necessarily chat with anyone else about during the school day—like the childhood toys we collected. Sydney, I’m grateful you share your Cheez-Its with me everyday in fourth hour, and that you bring your extremely dry sense of humor to our table. Maggie, I enjoy how we laugh about the uncalled for comments Ian makes during lunch together, and that we are apparently telepathic when doing our hair in the morning. Megan, I’m thankful that you joined our lunch table and hope you continue to sit with us. 

To my teachers, for encouraging me to be the best version of myself

I am immensely grateful to have teachers who are not only passionate about what they teach but care about me as a person.

Ms. Beckett, I’m thankful to have had you as my AP Sem teacher. I’m grateful that you let Autumn and I come in to practice the same presentation multiple times, even though you were sick with food poisoning; that you told our class hilarious stories about what you were like as a kid and your time teaching in Romania; and that you answered my countless questions about the technicalities of my PT papers. This year, I’m grateful you chat with my friends and I after lunch, and that you let us rambunctiously waltz into your room to interrupt your teacher responsibilities. Mrs. Penninga, I’m thankful that you create a comforting environment in your class, one that makes it perfect to have right before lunch. I’m appreciative that you bring new ideas and discussion points to the book club, and that you are supportive of Maylee and I leading the meetings. Mrs. Lipke, I’m thankful that you rationally explain precalculus in a personable way. Señor Silvestre, estoy agradecida por las clases tan divertidas (con el karaoke), y por tener un deseo genuino de ayudarnos a ser las mejores personas que podemos ser. 

To my Lifeline group, for our Sunday evenings

I love that I get to wrap up my weekends with both our miscellaneous discussions and Milo. Amanda, I’m grateful to have you as a supportive leader who has welcomed me into our group. I look forward to more Sundays together, in addition to our movie nights and winter celebrations. 

To my family, for guidance

I’m thankful I have supportive people in my life who care about me.

Mom, I’m grateful for the countless things you do for me in just the average week—preparing me food, keeping our house almost spotless, reminding me about important events I may forget about, and much, much more. I’m incredibly appreciative for the immense amount I owe to you. I enjoy spending time on Saturdays with you and look forward to more in the future. Dad, I’m thankful for how you help me study, analyzing the information and asking me further questions, even if it happens to overlap with your nightly watch of the news. I’m grateful that you encourage me to pursue business ventures, while simultaneously funding them. Aunt Melissa, your daily check-ins have become an anticipated, much-appreciated daily notification. I’m grateful that we’ve grown closer as I’ve gotten older, and I look forward to more garage-saleing and, hopefully, movie outings. 

To the Knotts, for being the absolute best hosts I could ask for

While I was initially apprehensive about flying approximately 35,000 feet above the ground to reach California, I am incredibly grateful I had the opportunity to see you all this last summer. I loved experiencing the West Coast for the first time in many years and finally understanding the setting of all too many of the stories I’ve heard from you all. Aunt Anna, I loved being able to leisurely chat with you for one of the first times in literal years. I am so thankful for all that you did for me as a host and as my aunt in general. I appreciate how you read my stories and check in on me, even if we’re many, many miles apart. Uncle David, I’m appreciative that you gave us the opportunity to revisit Disneyland, and I have enjoyed getting to learn more about your job. 

Ruby, you’re basically my older sister, even though our childhoods were spent together only on rare occasions. One day, I know we will live in close proximity to make up for our lost years. However, that isn’t to say I’m unappreciative of our fleeting experiences together; even when you come to Michigan, having you there makes it feel like a vacation for me too. When we’re together, I love simply chatting with you about everything: your college experiences, psychology, current exercise endeavors, and thriller movies, among other topics. You inspire me to improve my makeup routine because, even though you’re naturally beautiful, your makeup is typically flawless. I’m thankful that you help me improve my own routine and provide helpful insight every year. Sometimes taking place while you do my makeup, I’m appreciative of the new music you introduce to me. Even though we bond over our similar tastes, every time I see you, I seem to add another new song or artist to my library. 

In all seriousness, I miss you dearly and already have a running list of all the stories I have to tell you when we’re together next.

Maddie, you are me—just with some contrasting interests and different styles. On a dispositional level, I feel like I am more closely aligned with you than with anyone else I’ve ever met. You are undoubtedly one of the funniest people I know, and I can only hope I possess a similar ability to make others laugh. You’re self-deprecating and know how to best make light of awkward situations, something that makes me grin just writing this. UCSD genuinely seems like the most fitting place for you, and I am so excited to hear all about it when I see you next. I love catching you up on everything you’ve missed in Michigan, and I only wish that you were here to experience it with me. One day, I’m moving to the West Coast to be near you, but until then, I am grateful for the short intervals I get to spend with my cousin (sister). 

And, thank you to everyone else who isn’t mentioned that makes my days brighter.