Tess,

I wanted to write you this as a thank you. A thank you for being not only my travel partner but my bff. So, let's look back. Let's go back just 1 month ago when we were packing our bags and counting down the days until we got to Australia. Now let's go back 6 months ago when preseason was ending and junior year was just beginning. Wow, can you believe that? 6 months ago we sent in our applications to study abroad here and let me tell ya, I'm damn sure glad we did. Never did I think I'd be doing something like this, traveling the world and living on my own. But yet, here we are making our way through Australia (and now Thailand!). Sure, it has already been a rollercoaster of ups and downs, laughs and cries, and everything in between. But I can assure you there is no one else I'd want by my side during those moments.

It takes a lot to pick up everything you've ever known and travel 10,000 miles away from home. I get that, everyone here at this program gets that. But the thing is having you here with me has made all of that easier. Just having you as my familiarity and comfort makes things easier. You are my sense of home. You keep me grounded when things derail. You make me laugh even when I'm feeling anything but happy. You keep our little sailboat moving. But hold on, don't let me fool you by saying things are hard and I constantly needed your shoulder to lean on (although I'm damn sure glad I have that too). It's just that everyday is a new adventure. A new mountain to climb, a new friend to meet, and new plane to board. And checking off places on your bucket list with your best friend is pretty cool. But overcoming the obstacles, the lows, the bad days all while learning about life with you is pretty cool too (oh, and so is feeding elephants).

Aside from all the great things you do for me such as giving me advice and listening to my dramatic rants, you are honest and real with me and finding someone like that is slim to none today. So for that I thank you. I thank you for taking this journey with me and I'm grateful to be learning so much about each other along the way. I thank you for constantly pushing me out of my comfort zone, even when times are tough. You've already taught me so much I never even knew about myself and I just can't thank you enough for that. Thank you for telling me to eat pizza and ice cream. Thank you for doing crazy things with me. Thank you for always being down to stay in and watch a movie instead. Thank you for loving the beach as much as I do and of course, coffee too. Thank you for never leaving me alone. Thank you for making these memories with me every single day.

All in all, I am so lucky to have you by my side through our forever adventure called life and I can't wait to see where the map takes us next.