As I stood in that audition room, my entire body trembling, I knew that I had found the people who were going to help me transition into adulthood. You pulled me out of my shell and made sure that I had love and support whenever I needed it. You celebrated my success and gave judgement free advice when I failed.
I want to thank you all from the bottom of my heart. Whether it was shaving the back of my head in my dorm bathroom because I wanted to try something new with my hair, or drawing hearts all over my cup when I came in to Starbucks while you were working, you all made me feel at home in the terrifying new environment that is college. You took me in, made me a part of your already formed friend groups, and invited me to take part in your traditions. You told me stories of past shenanigans with your friends who had already graduated by the time I became a student, and you engaged in shenanigans with me.
I learned so many things from you, such as how to love my curls that I had spent 18 years despising and how to feel comfortable on stage (a skill that will no doubt come in handy in my future career as a teacher). You taught me how to love myself again, a skill that I had forgotten in the soul crushing world of high school.
Thank you for all the times you made sure I got back to my residence hall after a party, thank you for making sure that I knew how to protect myself when wandering campus at night, thank you for wandering campus with me at night. Thank you for the nicknames, the hugs, the flicks to the back of the head whenever I made a really bad pun. Thank you for taking on the role of an older sister or a mom, and for knowing when I needed you as a peer to treat me like an adult rather than treating me like a child all the time. Thank you for loving me for who I am, and not trying to change me. Thank you for accepting me when I came out, and for allowing me to find the label that fits my sexuality best on my own without any pressure to choose any one in particular.
Thank you, and in case I haven’t told you recently, I love you.
