First, I want to express how deeply I love all of you. Often I cannot find the words, but right now I will do my best. From our first interactions, to our first conversations not bookended by lazy small talk, to laughing until we cried and crying until we laughed, and so many other moments, each and every one of you have made me smile. Every single day I get to spend with you is, in the words of the great Cole Porter, “It’s delightful, it’s delicious, it’s de-lovely.”

I want to thank you for taking part in the music I'm obsessed with. Some of you now know the words to more of my favorite songs than you'd like to admit. I want to thank you for late night drives, discovering our unfamiliar college town along side me, and stopping to feed spontaneous fast-food cravings. From buzzing state highways, little back roads, downtown, and everything in between, Lord knows we've done it all. None of it would have been as lovely if your sassy, sweet selves hadn't been there with me. Whether or not I was the one going to pick you up because you popped your tire or you were coming to find me because I’m too proud to stop for directions, it feels like we’ve done it all in these past few months. The best times of my life thus far have been the days and nights I have spent with you, all of you, and for that I am glad.

I want to thank you for every long day that we have been able to smile about at the end. It means the world to me to see you smile. To know you're happy, to know you enjoy my company even a fraction of how much I enjoy yours, erases every stressful thing from my mind. You're the reasons why I can sleep at night and get up in the morning, why I'm no longer afraid of the monster in my closet, and slowly but surely learning how to love and accept myself.

I want to thank you for literally saving my life. When I break, body or mind, like the beat up old cars I used to drive, you help me patch myself up and get back on the road again.

I want to thank for letting me be me and loving me the way I am. You all try to understand my quirks and uplift me and my eccentricities instead of smoothing over them or sweeping them under the rug. I feel free when I’m with you.

Without that, and without you, I don't know where I'd be.