Dear Support System:

“So be sure when you step,

Step with care and great tact.
And remember that life's A Great Balancing Act.
And will you succeed? Yes! You will, indeed!
(98 and ¾ percent guaranteed)
Kid, you'll move mountains.”
― Dr. Seuss, Oh, The Places You'll Go!

From day one, you said I could even when my entire gut was saying I couldn’t. Each performance and feat, big or small, you sat in the crowd and let them know how I made you proud. You made it to all my ceremonies, even if you had to slip in the back row right as the lights dimmed low and made sure that I never did anything less than extraordinary. Even when I felt like the world was tumbling down around me, I could count on someone to stand by my side. You made me feel worthy, you spoiled me with kindness, and taught me that it’s OK to care in a world full of people who like to pretend that they don’t. If I ever became misguided, discouraged, or down you brushed the dirt off my knees and told me to get up and try again. You mended my broken hearts – whether they were from my first bad report in kindergarten or losing my first love or yours.

Thank you.

Thank you for pushing me and making me be nothing less than extraordinary. Thank you for teaching me that I can do great things, despite nerves or lack of courage. Thanks for believing in me, even if you were just as nervous as I was, you would never show it. You would never show a millimeter less than pride and support; I am who I am because of you. I try my hardest to love unconditionally and forgive continually because of you. I try to be the person you thought of me as, even when my gut told me not yet, and strive to meet the goals you knew I could meet before I even decided I wanted to aim for them. Thanks for believing in me even when I couldn't do the same and I love you just the same.

Thanks for teaching me to move mountains when I was still stumbling over mole hills.

Love,

Stevie Crews