There are people in my life who weren't a part of my last article, Being Sick During The Developing Part Of My Swimming Career Is A Time I Will Never Forget, but were the biggest people to help me through the whole ordeal. Even after I left the hospital and began swimming again, I didn't just "get better". In fact, in some ways, I got worse and was more miserable than being in the hospital.

For three years after I was sick, I spent most of my time in and out of doctor's offices and emergency rooms, my mom attending every visit with me. If Dad had a day off, he would spend it in a hospital one way or another.

I always needed my parents' full attention. When you spend years living in and out of a doctor's office, those visits become the "important event" of the day. The real question was, how did I keep up with school? I didn't really--but most importantly, neither did my siblings.

My mom has home-schooled my four siblings and me for over 10 years, making up most of my school career and all of my siblings' schooling experience. They lost a lot of school and quality time with my mom because of my ill years.

Fast forward a couple more years, and I'm at Towson University, pursuing my dream to swim Division 1. I'm working towards a degree in Mass Communications with a minor in business. This is everything I've ever wanted--but more often than not, I find myself missing my siblings or telling everyone I know things they did that week.

It's one thing to grow up with siblings and another to spend every day with them, knowing all the small things and being a best friend to each of them. It was a gift, and one I should have taken advantage of more.

College has been very hard without my three best friends by my side.

I joked that if any of them ever came to school here, I would transfer cause "that would be horrible." But I'm realizing in my junior year that there's nothing I would love more than to have at least one of them by my side (wink Max).

These three people, in their own ways, have made me stronger over the years. Their teasing and harsh comments, even though I don't always take it the best way, has prepared me for criticism in the "real world." I might not have been ready for if it wasn't for your honesty.

People will often mention that they have siblings while on a first date to help break the ice. Well, I believe an hour of my last first date was dedicated to stories and information about all my siblings--including pictures or videos of the said event.

I'll get homesick and call my siblings, hearing about their week or what they are doing. I get so jealous hearing about things they've been doing together while I'm a thousand miles away. All of my favorite things that I still do in college, began with one of them.

The only person who would ride to the gas station at 10 with me (until recently) was Max. Regardless of what he was doing, that was something we loved to do; so simple, but at least once a week. This was easily one of my favorite parts of the week.

Riding to practices in the morning or post-practice cuddles aren't the same without Morgan. It isn't so bad now, but there was something special about cuddling under many blankets and talking about the practice before we started to doze off and you would rub your feet on me cause you're weird like that.

And how could we forget about the random science lessons you would get just by asking Micah what he was listening to on his phone or the book he was reading? I didn't know there enough interesting things about flamingos that you could make an hour-long documentary on their lives, but you would always teach me something new, regardless of being the baby of the family.

But the saddest part of any of this is when I come home from school, they aren't little anymore. I don't feel like I'm able to help them the way they helped me. I always feel like I'm missing so much not being there.

Every day I'm curious about what they're doing and how everything is. Most importantly, I wish I could help with everything y'all are going through and spend more time being here being as involved from far away.

Please know that even from over a thousand miles away, I am so proud of each of you and the people you are becoming. I'm sorry that I can't be there the way you all were there for me, it means the world to me. But know I'm always here and will continue to be. I know it's not always easy but you are handling it so well.

So for the people who helped me when I needed it most (and even when I didn't), thank you for always being there and doing more than you were expected. To the three best friends I didn't know I wanted, I am so blessed because of each of you, and I love you all.