Words cannot express how lucky I am to have the family that I have. I can’t even begin to explain how much my friends mean to me, both the old and the new. Without these people, I mean it when I say that I would not be where I am right now. I seriously have the biggest support system on the planet, and for that, I am forever grateful. I have my family and friends, but I also have my people. My people are the ones that are no longer a part of these two categories. They know me inside and out, they have seen me at my worst, and my best and they remain my people anyways.

I firmly believe that everyone needs this special third group of people. There is something comforting in the fact that I have found my home away from home in some of the people who probably know me the best. My three roommates without a doubt are my people. We have one year left living together, and I can already feel the tears coming on. These people not only know who I am, but they accept me for it. I can come to them at my best or my worst, and they love me anyways.

I know that after this year we will probably never be under the same roof together again. Don’t get me wrong; they will forever be my people, but doing life together will look much different after May. Life moves on, and that can be sad, but I find so much comfort in the fact that I can find a home in Massachusetts, New York, California and Virginia. It’s hard to tell where life will take us, but I have this feeling that we will never be too far apart.

These people – my people – listen to me rant, they encourage me, they tell me when I am wrong, they pray for me, they laugh with me and they go through life with me. I could brag on these ladies for a long time, but I think everyone gets my point. I don’t express this to them enough, but I want to say thank you. Thank you for unapologetically being who God has created each of you to be. Thank you for being my people. My life would not be the same without any of you.

Everyone needs to have their own people. I really mean that. You need to have friends and family, but you also need to have the special third group. To me, life doesn’t seem possible without having a few people who you can call the weird mix between friends and family. Find your people and stick with them. Life moves on, and your people may leave, but they won’t go too far. I urge everyone to find these people that you can call home because life just doesn’t seem right without them. So, here’s to room 310! You are my people.