Growing up there have been a tremendous amount of people who faithfully believed in me. These people have stood by my side through moments of doubt, stupidity, triumph, and fear. I could not thank those people enough. However, for every one person who stood by me there were 3 more who doubted me, bullied me, made me feel as if I would never aspire to the person who I have always dreamed of being and left me when I needed them the most. I want to thank those people because each of them has taught me a lesson that I intend to carry with me forever.

Thank you to the middle school girls who exiled me from their lunch table for something that I can't even remember now.

At the time I thought that my life was ending. I thought that I would never be able to show my face again. Of course I now see that whatever reason you all were mad at me was probably really petty but it made me realize that even the people you thought were your friends can turn on you for something that isn't even your fault. Middle school girls are probably the meanest people you will ever meet.

Thank you to the people who teased me about my smile before I got braces.

For a really long time I didn't like to smile because I feared that I would be made fun of. I thought that because I hadn't gotten braces yet or because my smile was not perfect without them that I did not deserve to smile. I never wanted to embarrass myself or those around me. Now that I've had braces, and my teeth have slightly shifted, I've learned that my smile is perfect just the way it is. I've learned to have confidence in something that has made me self-conscious my entire life.

Thank you to the friend who left me because of a boy that I dated.

I want to thank you because you made me realize that no friendship is worth a boy, especially in your sophomore year of high school. I learned that I need to cherish the friendships that I have because at the end of the day, friends will always be there for me.

Thank you to the people in high school who hated my attitude.

There is no doubt about it; I had a horrifically bad attitude in high school. I didn't care about anything but advancing myself. I knew what I was supposed to do and I took things very seriously. Though people called me names and people hated me for it, I was never ashamed of who I was. I knew what I wanted and I'm not ashamed of my strong personality.

Thank you to everyone in college who didn't think that I was good enough to be part of their "group."

I struggled for a really long time about not feeling good enough for everyone else but I finally realized that as long as I'm happy with who I am and I have a great friend group than I'm going to be just fine. I don't need people who don't want to be friends with me. I'm a fantastic person and I'm an asset to any friendship.

There are going to be people who will continue to push me away, make me feel like I'm not good enough, and tell me I won't make it, but I just need to remember that I can do anything that I put my mind to!