As much as I would love to take credit for being the person I am today, I would not have been able to get where, or be who I am without a list of people I've met along this road called life. The people who have been a shoulder to cry on, who laugh at us when we trip, who know all our secrets, who pick us up when we feel down; those people. We constantly forget that these people are the ones who help leave our mark in this world, so here's to those people who make us, us!
To my parents.
Good ol' Mom and Dad, is there really ever a way to thank you for all you've done for me? For starters, thanks for dealing with me through my god awful bratty middle school years when the worst thing I did was forget to do the dishes. What a time. You taught me all I know about sports and you made me the most competitive person in the world. You were the ones who taught me how to ride a bike and assure me that it's okay to fall, get back up, and to try again. You were the ones who showed me what true love is and to never settle for anyone. I would say you're the ones who taught me how to cook, but I still barely know how to make a grilled cheese. You are my people, parents. Thanks for being you and for all you've done and continue to do for me!
To my older brothers.
Where do I start with two older brothers? For starters thank you for beating me up enough to make me as tough as I am today, for always including me in nightly neighborhood manhunt games, for accepting the fact that I was much better at Rock Band than y'all, and for being the worlds most annoying older brothers. Brothers are supposed to scare off any potential boyfriends and maybe that's why I'm still single, sure let's go with that. I wouldn't trade you brats for the world.
To my sister-in-law to be.
There's always a little something missing when you grow up without a sister. It's not the same trying to talk your brothers into playing barbies with you and to convince them not to rip their heads off (yes, this is a true story). To my sister-in-law to be, I can't wait to officially have you part of my family. To be a sister is one of my favorite things in life, and to have one is something I've always looked forward to. My brother gets to marry the love of his life and I get a forever shopping buddy, someone to devour desserts with, a person to team up against my brother with, and most importantly; a sister.
To my sports teams.
Growing up playing sports can actually teach you a lot in life. Sure you may believe it just teaches you where to put your fingers on the laces of a football, or what offsides really means, but it actually does teach you a lot about yourself. I know it sounds so cliche, but it teaches you how to be a team player and how to be someone that people depend on. Your team is a group of people who stuff their faces during pre game meal, who goof around with you at practice, and people who you cry with on the field on the last game. Being led by a coach, someone who is there to lead you as a team and teach you how to be a better teammate, is someone who you will always cherish. Your team becomes more like a family at the end of the day.
To my high school best friends.
Going into high school with a great group of friends can change your entire high school experience. To those whom I walked through the halls with on the first day, I can't thank you enough for being you. Having people to be weird with, to have sleepovers with (even on school nights, wild!!), to help you decide who you want to be in the world, to make dumb teenage mistakes with; our high school best friends were those people. Even though you may go different ways after graduation, being able to go back home and hang out with them like nothing has changed is one of the best things in the world. A girl is nothing without her best friends.
To my first college friends.
To the people everyone warns you about, freshman college roommates. You go into college being told not to room with your best friends, but also to be careful about rooming with randoms, so what option does that leave you with? From experience, random roommates can be the best people to start off this new chapter in your life with. The ones who toured the campus with you before the first day, who went with you to every school event so you didn't have to go alone, who would pull all nighters with you in the library. Thank you for being great people to start off college with.
To my current roommates.
There are two kinds of people in this world; those who watch you eat spoonfuls of cookie dough at 2:30 in the morning, and those who join you, a.k.a. roommates. Thank you to my roommates for not judging me for watching three seasons of "Grey's Anatomy" in one sitting, for letting me sleep until 2 in the afternoon, for being built in cuddle buddies, and for being there to listen to rants about school and boys. Thank you for being not only my best friends, but being moms and therapists. You are the real mvps, roomies.
