Thank God for my parents. I feel insanely grateful to have the parents I have. Although we have our disagreements and fights, they continuously try to give me the best life that they possibly can. Thank you so much for all the sacrifices and things I do not see. I am forever grateful that I get to make you proud every day. Thanks for always giving me your best at all times. I love you!

Thank God for my grandparents. Thank you, Grandma Pauline and Grandpa Peter, for always talking highly about me and my accomplishments. Thank you, Grandma, for going above and beyond the stars every time I spend the weekend at your house or a week in Florida. I love hearing your advice and stories about how you and Grandpa met. Thank you, Grandpa, for swimming with me and listening to stories about me shining. I hope we can go to the gym and ride the bikes together soon (I will never let you win a swim race or go faster than me on the bikes). Thank you to my late Grandpa James for giving me my swimming skills and humor. I think about you more that you are not alive than I was when you were. My mom says I am a lot like you. I hope I am making you proud. I will never forget the way you folded up your pizza, and I tried recreating it. I have no doubt we will meet again. I hope there are lots of swimming pools wherever you are. I would like your advice, but I will do what I can with the information I have. Thank you to my Grandma Marla for always telling me to care for my body and health. I miss you.

Thank God for my extended family. Thank you to Uncle Tim, Aunt Michelle, Aunt Danielle, Uncle Boyd, Aunt Erika, and Uncle Tony. Thank you, Uncle Tim, for talking about Taylor Swift and  Morgan Wallen with me. Thank you, Aunt Michelle, for your endless kindness and hospitality. Thank you, Aunt Danielle, for always being there when I needed it and telling me to embrace the most authentic version of myself. Thank you, Uncle Boyd, for always cracking jokes that make me laugh and teaching me new things. You can always count on me. Thank you, Aunt Erika, for always letting me stay at your house whenever I wanted. Your food is also excellent. I wanted to mention it. Thank you, Uncle Tony, for always being so welcoming and asking me about my life. Thank you, Jo, Vanessa, Reese, Emerson, Trevor, Ani, Rory, and Hailey. Thank you, Jo and Vanessa, for being the best sisters I could ever ask for; thank you for playing with me and dancing with me in the living room when we were younger. Thank you for letting me know you will be there when I need you. Thank you, Reese, for absolutely everything. If I have ten best friends, you are one of them. If I have five best friends, you’re one of them. If I have one best friend, it’s you. I love you so much. Thanks for continually bringing me back down to earth and letting me know things are never that deep. YOLO! Thank you, Emerson, for always hyping me up when I need it. I miss our deep life talks on the trampoline. I love you. Thank you, Trevor, for playing with me when I was little and being such a great role model for me to look up to. Thank you, Ani, for answering my annoying texts and questions. Thanks for also letting me hold your baby so much. Thank you, Rory, for inspiring me to be a good role model for you like your dad was for me. I cannot wait to see you grow up, baby girl! Thank you, Hailey, for bonding with me over Taylor Swift and being the cool older cousin when I was seven.

Thank God for FNL. Thank you, Lauren, for making cheer season so much fun. I will miss singing “Bed Chem” and discussing the Tiktoks I sent you. I am happy I met someone who is as chronically online as me. I love you and will miss seeing who is casual in the stands. Thank you, Coco, and my birthday twin, Ava, for making this season so much fun. Thank you for your endless kindness and support. Seeing you in the stands would always encourage me to be more confident. 

Thank God for GGRFSC. Although I do not love skating like I once did, I have the best memories. Thank you to Ellie for always being there and cheering me up. I loved all the moments we got yelled at for talking too much. Thank you, Bryn, for always being someone I could enjoy hockey games with and for our debriefs about practice. You are someone I can always count on. Thank you to everyone else who made my experience at GGRFSC, what I remember, a fantastic experience. I love you all—my forever family. 

Thank God for soccer. Thank you so much to Ava and Abby for encouraging me to play even when I was scared that I would be so awful. Thank you to Melena, Aubrey, and Lauren for always explaining things that I don’t understand in the weight room. Thank you for being so understanding and welcoming when I do not get things on the first try. Thank you to my teammates last year who helped me become a better player and always hyped me up. Thank you, Coach John, Coach Rob, and Coach Ludke, for always believing in me and giving me the feedback I need to become a better player. Thank you, Zhoslt, for pushing me harder than I knew I could work because you believe in me.  

Thank God for all my teachers. Thank you, Mrs. Gaiser. Who knows, I am terrible at math, but thank you for explaining it to me. Thank you, Mrs. Martus, for always being understanding during my off day and teaching me about ceramics. Thank you, Mr. Anderson, for making me less ignorant about history. Thank you, Ms. Webster, for always telling me about anything and how I feel. Thank you, Mr. George, for always encouraging me to write. Thank you, Dr. Keller, for listening to stories about my day and all my thoughts on what we are doing in class and helping me understand the material. 

Thank God for Texas. Thank you, Ava, for being my best friend, always. Even though you are 18 hours away. You are the Meredith to my Cristina. I cannot thank you enough for all you’ve done for me. Even though we have our moments, I know we are meant to be best friends—for now and forever. Thanks for always matching how dramatic I am but being realistic when I need it. I miss you being just down the street, but I know we will see each other soon. Thank you to Avery because even though we might not text that often, I know we can pick right where we left off. Thank you, Conrad, for being someone I can always express my honest thoughts to without judgment. I miss you.  

Thank God for being broke and needing a job. Thank you, Ella, for being so relatable and for being someone who inspires me. Your resilience inspires me daily; you are such a wonderful mom. I love our debriefs after work and your telling me to listen to your music. Thank God for tutoring.

Thank you, Ann, for being a friend to me, always. Thank you for always helping me with schoolwork and advising me on guys, friendships, and college advice. I love hearing stories about your life and catching up with you about Ella, Eli, Ethan, Sophia, Bexley, Cora, and Charlotte (whom I also thank for being their authentic selves). 

Thank God for clay and sculpture. Thank you to Susie for always being there for me when I need someone to fall back on, constantly checking up on me, and reminding me how much you love me. Thank you, Katherine, for always being yourself and encouraging me to be myself. I adore talking to you about my day, week, and every random thought I have. Thanks for always putting up with my attitude. Thank you, Kinzi, for being such a fun person. Thank you for being so open to talk about anything and everything.

Thank God for Mrs. Stiles’s class. Thank you, Addy, for being such a good friend to me. I will never be able to thank you enough for the small things you have done for me, which add up to be huge. I love you, and I love our FaceTime calls. I wish I could have sent you this from a pigeon.

Thank God for eighth-grade math. Thank you, Olivia, for the endless years of laughter that we have had. Thank you so much for always being there for me when I needed it. I know I can come to you for anything. I am happy we met in eighth grade; I cannot imagine what my life would look like if I didn’t have you to make jokes with. Thank you, Tessa, for being my AP language, work, and homework buddy. I am so glad we met in eighth-grade math and reconnected this year. I have enjoyed every moment we have spent together. Seeing you makes my day because I know we will have fun. 

Thank God I have so many incredible people in my life, and I get to write about them and show my love for all of them. Thank you for all you have done for me. I might be broke, but I’m extremely rich, in my opinion.