Dear amazing people that I have the fortunate opportunity to call friends:

A lot of revealing things have come out of the past week. Writing out my suicide story, as some of you have put it, takes balls. Maybe a better phrasing of that would be that it is brave, but knowing the inappropriate context that I like to put things in, it makes sense.

You guys have not judged me for being authentically me. It gives me great pride to admit that the people currently involved in my life are here for me until the end. You guys love me for me, and that is amazing. I love how you guys think that I am cool. I think that you are pretty cool, too, so I guess that is why you are my friends.

At the beginning of summer, I was a train wreck. What many of you guys did not know is that I was a suicidal train wreck. I was so ready to end my own life. But y'all? You basically said, "guuuurl, you have a lot to live for." Joking aside, you made me feel whole again. You said, "hey, I am here for you and I love you." Who knew that three words would literally be the reason that I am alive today?

As Kenny Chesney says, "I've got friends in low places." It is so true. My friends are people from high school, college, and from my weird in between stage. Some I have known for six years, others six months. Some I met in class, others just gravitated towards me. The point is, I have felt so much love from such a diverse, fantastic group of people. I know that I will one day be able to pay you back in my Inaugural Address, but until then, I hope this will suffice.

I love the saying that "love has no boundaries." I hope you guys realize that you can come to me for anything and I will not judge you. If you need a hug, I've got you. If you want to get some dry ice at 3 AM, I've got you. No matter the circumstance, I will do anything for my friends. We all connect with certain people at the appropriate times in our lives, and I am glad we crossed paths when we did.

Sometimes, I look at the people in my life in sheer amazement because you love me and choose me. I know that I can be a lot to handle sometimes, but with you, I never feel that way. Something about unconditional love from something that is not a dog makes me feel whole.

So thank you. Thank you for the Krispy Kreme runs. Thank you for telling me to choose my future instead of what was in the past. Thank you for making me choose life instead of the alternate. Thank you for loving me and accepting me. I am so lucky to have the people that I do in my life, and I am glad that you chose me.

Love you forever,

Emily Rasch