Dear 2016,

Many may refer to you as an "awful" year. A lot happened in terms of America and the world that might qualify you to be on a list of not so great years, but on a personal level you were a pretty solid year, 2016. You were full of some of the happiest and saddest moments I've ever experienced in my life to this point. You made me appreciate what and who is important, and for that, I am eternally grateful.

In January, you opened on an incredible note. Ringing you in surrounded by some of my greatest friends. Laughing hysterically, giggling until 4 am after a New Year's Eve party. Waking up to Telly's delicious pancakes. It felt like it was going to be a pretty great year.

Until January 6th, however, on January 6th I woke up, and something was off. My body was tingling, I couldn't feel my tongue or face, my eyesight was blurry, my mind was in a fog, and I couldn't ever remember where I was. That day I lost my mom in our local Walmart, and began to cry because I could not remember where I was. That night I landed myself in Huron Medical Center's Emergency Room where they took lots of blood and diagnosed me with depression. I looked around the room at my mom and my grandparents and tears began to pour. This wasn't depression, I felt happy. People that are depressed feel sad, don't they?

The next day I was transferred into McLauren Bay's hospital in Bay City where they struggled to take more blood, and performed a CT scan. After spending hour upon hour in Bay City with no luck, I was then moved to The University of Michigan's Health Care System in Ann Arbor where over 13 doctors tended to me and performed different exams on me. Performing tests for Lyme Disease, undergoing another CT scan as well as and MRI, and dozens of other tests with no luck. Even today, I find myself struggling with the effects of whatever is currently wrong with my body.

So 2016, you didn't start of as great as I'd hoped, but you didn't fail to improve....

In February, I stood cheering front row for my high school's boy's basketball team and watched as they became local district champs for the second year in a row. I also watched the University of Michigan Men's Basketball team come up with a huge win over Purdue while wearing their "ChadTough" gear that same week at Crisler Center.

March started off great, sending an incredible person, Jacob Aymen, off with well wishes to Washington D.C. where his political journey took off and he actually got to listen to President Obama as well as pose in a picture with him. Like January, however, the happy note that March started on didn't last long.

March 8th, I traveled with my mom and grandma down to Dearborn for an Admitted Student's Reception at the University of Michigan. everything started out great, we got to Dearborn, went out to eat at Chili's nearby, and all was good.

Until we got to the reception, however. We made it to the lobby, but while waiting for the program to start, I felt my grandma kind of start sliding down the nearest wall. Eventually I realized she was falling, and I grabbed her to lay her down, while the nearest security man came rushing over. The ambulance was called, and once arriving, the medics took all of her vitals. She appeared to be perfectly fine, but watching her pass out scared my mother and I to the point where we put her in the car and drove her down to the hospital in Ann Arbor to be sure she was okay.

March was a little rough, and didn't seem to turn back up until the very end of the month as we celebrated my puppy Champ's third birthday.

April meant spring break of my senior year of high school, so that was a good time of course! 16 hours in a car to drive down to Destin, Florida to spend the week laying on the beach, living in an incredible house with a few friends. I even managed to wiggle my way down to Orlando to officially visit Hogwarts at Universal Studios, and drink my first glass of butter beer.

May was great being that the 1st opened with senior year prom festivities, and my tenth year of softball was in full swing. It ended just as great as it start spending my last day of high school surrounded by my classmates.

On June 5th I walked through the Bad Axe High School graduation ceremony with my best friend, I crossed the stage, received my diploma, threw my hat, and became known as an alum. The month of June was spent celebrating accomplishments at graduation parties with family and friends. I also said goodbye to a few insecurities and took up lifting with my aunt and Sess, whom has become an incredible friend.

July, everyone loves the Fourth of July! I spent the fourth in Port Austin as I have every year since I was nine. It was slightly different this year. A little sad not living on main street to celebrate, and play volleyball all day, but spending all day at the beach, watching the fireworks from the break wall never fails to make it a great day.

Midway through July 2016, I was interviewed for a job at PAK's Beer Garden where I got the job that I now love and miss so dearly this winter.

August was a whirlwind to say the least. To any Michigan fan, August started of amazingly. The M Den officially opened in Ann Arbor with all of the new Nike gear. Coach Harbaugh even showed up to the event to celebrate with the crowd, so I'd say August started off on a good note.

August got tougher each and every day. It didn't feel real, as I watched my friends pack up their belongings and leave for college. Saying goodbye for months at a time was far from easy, but knowing what they're all capable of achieving makes the distance worth it. The end of August was easily the hardest as I said goodbye to the person that made me crazy while also keeping me sane all throughout my years in Bad Axe.

In the early days of September, I found myself packing up my own room, saying goodbye to my family, my dog, my home, and leaving for Dearborn. The first few weeks were nothing short of awful. I had no one to talk to, nothing to do besides study, and I went insane.

After some encouragement from my older cousin, I found myself rushing through rounds of recruitment, and on September 25th I found my home with Phi Mu.

October...my birth month! How could it be anything short of incredible?! Well breaking my butt! That's how. October 1st, after celebrating at a bid party, I slid and broke my tailbone..most painful thing I have ever experienced. 0/10 would not recommend. That same night, however, I stayed at my big, Anne's house, and that was when we really hit it off. So the night wasn't so bad after all. As the month continued, my birthday creeped up, and on October 22nd I celebrated with some close friends at my dad's house. That was also the last time I spoke to my dad...so I guess October had its good and bad moments as well.

November. I'd rather not talk about November, but I can't just leave it out. November was by far, without a doubt, the toughest month I've faced this year, maybe even ever. It started off decent, I was lifting like a crazy woman, and I was becoming super confident and happy with how my back was beginning to look.

It took a turn for the worse on November 16th, one of my best friend's birthdays, when I my mom called hysterically crying to inform me that my baby, Champ, had passed. His stomach turned due to how high he jumped, and when my step dad got home from work he was just, "there."

That news took the wind out of me. It knocked me down way farther than I'd ever been. It shattered something inside of me, and changed how I viewed every second of my life. You only have so much time with the people and animals you love, so don't waste it being angry or sad over stupid things. Enjoy each second.

The rest of November consisted of a lot of tears. More tears than I ever could've imagined possible. As the month continued, I got officially initiated into Phi Mu. That was something to be happy about, but with the news I'd received it felt near impossible to be happy.

I pushed through the following weeks, so that I could go home and spend time with my family for Thanksgiving.

December started rough, I was craving Christmas break and needing home. I missed home, and I continued to struggle with the loss of my dog. A few weeks into the month of December, my mom decided I needed a dog because of how bad I was struggling. We traveled ten hours down to Indiana to pick up twelve week old Rex. He's not "my" Champy. He's not him, and he never will be. It's something I'm still struggling with but he's an incredible little guy, and I'm so grateful to have him in my life.

2016, you were full of ups and downs. Some of the greatest moments of my life, and some of the saddest moments of my life took place within your twelve months, but I'm thankful for it all. The lows made me appreciate the highs on an entirely new level. Thank you for that 2016.

Cheers to you.