We all have that one person in our life who does something — something so minuscule — that changes our entire aspect of living in the best way possible. If you haven't experienced it yet, you'll understand what I'm talking about when it happens to you. For those who have experienced this life changing encounter, the majority of us have never actually thought to tell this person the impact they've had on our lives. And if it has crossed your mind, you probably never had the courage to tell them.

I fall in the latter of the two. But after watching a "TedTalk" on Everyday Leadership a couple of weeks ago, I finally found that courage and here we are today. We all have our own stories, and this is my story of how this person changed and is continuing to change my life:

I've always been a homebody — someone who would rather spend her weekends watching movies with mom and dad than go out and party with her friends — which only made leaving for college that much more difficult. And I think by word of mouth (*cough my older sister cough*) you knew that. I knew that I wanted to go to Virginia Tech more than anything in the world, but the thought of being three and a half hours away from home for months at a time scared the living daylights out of me.

You see, I have this fear of not being good enough, this fear of not being smart enough, this fear of not being pretty enough, funny enough, strong enough — this fear of not being enough. And when I got thrown into this foreign place called college with fears like that, I shut down. I found myself only hanging out with people from my high school, leaving my door closed so that people I didn't know wouldn't have the opportunity to judge me, doing homework during every waking hour so I had an excuse to skip out on the "biggest frat party of the semester." It became a problem. I became a problem. A problem that I didn't know how to fix.

And that is where you came in. All it took was for you to ask me to get lunch at Turner during my first week as a Virginia Tech student to make sure I was settling in alright, and it finally hit me. I wasn't alright. I was nowhere near alright, but I played it off like I was. But then you told me all about your involvement on campus from being a student mentor to being in Greek life, and I realized that I was so much better off than I could have ever imagined. I got accepted into an amazing university with one of the best engineering colleges in the nation. I have classes with the most spirited, caring, and involved people I've ever meet. And I was having a spinach salad with feta cheese and olives for lunch with the most inspirational girl I've ever known who helped me realize how blessed I really was.

I don't think you'll truly ever understand the impact you made on me on that very day. I knew I had to give it my all to break out of this shell that I hid myself in. When I failed, you were there to pick me back up and made sure I kept chugging along. And when I succeeded, you were there to cherish the moment with me. You were the older sister for me when my real sister couldn't be there. So it was only natural that when I ran into the Sigma Kappa house on bid day a year and three months ago, I was scanning the sea of purple, green, and yellow looking for you to wrap my arms around. And I did — with tears running down my face out of pure joy.

You are the strongest woman I know, and everything you do whether it is for me, for the sisters in our chapter or for the community, you do it with the most passion and joy I've ever seen. You've endured more hardship than I could ever imagine going through, yet each day, you rise up stronger and better than the day before. You've helped me to realize all the potential that I have within me. You've helped me learn to live and to love. You've helped me see and believe that I am enough. You've helped shape me into who I am today.

And that's my story. So for those of you who have this special someone in your life, I encourage you to speak up and tell them what they mean to you. Thank them for all they've done for you. Cherish the time you have with them. And take the opportunity to give back to them.

Now it's time for me to give back to the incredible woman who has done so much for me in this past year. Every year for 365 days of the year, you commit yourself to Relay For Life, so in honor of you and your dedication, I pledge to donate $0.05 to Virginia Tech's Relay For Life for every share this article gets between now and the night of Virginia Tech's Relay, Friday, April 24, 2015.

Thanks for being who you are and for turning my college experience around on that hot August day.