It takes a village to raise a child.

It takes the high school English teacher with open arms and an endless supply of tissues, the teacher who helped with every part of every college application, who let me sit in her room when I couldn't get it together on my off periods, who coached me even when I wasn't her student anymore, and who draws the best diagrams of key plot points in all the classic novels.

It takes the basketball coaches and music teachers who cheered for me at games and concerts when I didn't have anyone else in the crowd, the coaches and teachers who waited with me for countless hours when my ride home didn't show, who drove me to and from tournaments, and never let me believe I was wasting my time.

It takes the best friend who doesn't freak out when I show up at his house everyday with a new crazy story, the best friend who laughs at it all with me so I don't cry alone, who I can count on 24/7 to sit on the couch and watch Friends with, who keeps me sane when I'm on the brink of insanity, and who, even after knowing me for over a decade, still deals with the cloud of crazy that engulfs my life.

It takes two of the best people I've ever known, people who've offered me their guest room more times than I can count when I just wasn't sure I could go home, who've been two of the most supportive and guiding influences in my life, who led the cheers for me when I graduated high school, and who cried when I left for my freshman year of college.

It takes the 113 sisters I've found at Binghamton, the sisters who will braid my hair when I'm too lazy to do it, who will pick me up from the hospital after being admitted for dehydration and exhaustion, who will sit in the quad with me all day, moving only to get frozen yogurt and avoid being hit by a soccer ball, and who will make sure I'm safe at any given time.

And it takes the countless others I've met along the way.

Few things ring truer than the old African proverb, It takes a village to raise a child. Repeated by thousands of people every day, it's safe to say we all have our own village. And whether they're blood-relatives or not, each and every person is a key part of who you are right in this moment.

At 19, I'm still building my village, because I've got a lot more growing to do. But so far, I like to think I've done a pretty good job.