Dear Ellen,

My name's Jess, and I'm a freshman college student.

I know fans normally write to you about their adoration for your highly rated daytime talk-variety show "Ellen", your charismatic personality and your overall infectious aura, oftentimes including a touching backstory of how they overcame adversity in their lives with the indirect help of a certain witty, dance- and humor- savvy talk show host and comedian.

A lot of those stories (or at least the ones you read aloud during your show) boast immense tales of inspiration and perseverance. This letter isn't one of those heartfelt memoirs, but I still wish to share my thoughts with you because I want you to know that I truly believe in what you say and do in promoting the goodness of humanity.

I've been a fan of you since fourth grade. A year before, my family moved from a state an 18-hour drive south. And a year-and-a-half before that, we lived in another state a 17-hour drive back up north.

Although my childhood wasn't all spent shuffling from place to place, the times I did have to do so meant being the new kid at school, several times over. Thus, up until I was in fifth grade, I didn't feel like I could have in-depth friendships in fear that my family would have to move again.

It didn't help that I was an extremely quiet kid to begin with and therefore struggled to socialize in general. And being the new elementary school student can be quite scary. Within those two-week-or-so blocks of time as the "newbie", your classmates' collective goal is to find out as much information as they can about you, so that they can make their own judgements as to whether or not they want to befriend you. For newbies, it's often an uncomfortable and humiliating situation, and it was very much more so for me since making friends was one of my strongest weaknesses. Over time, I found that the only way to deal with being overwhelmed by the bombardment of intrusive questions was to simply shake my head "yes" or "no", even if what was asked didn't merit a "yes or no" response.

However, one classmate recognized my struggle and approached me on my first day of class. Starting off the conversation by asking me what it was like to move from a state that snowed to one that didn't, she then launched into her life story of how she was actually born in that state, but was too young to remember what winter there was like since she moved to a state with a yearlong tropical climate when she was just a baby. Concluding with a fantastical vision of someday traveling back to that state to see snow, I assured her that she'll see that snow one day.

It may not have been the ideal first impression, but to a seven-year-old who was too afraid to even speak, it was a much-needed relief from nosy classmates.

As I grew comfortable with her, I came to consider her a best friend, for she was the first classmate who didn't view me as some kind of caged animal at the zoo that everyone gawked at.

So for that year-and-a-half I was at that school, I was happy.

It's been nine years of supporting you, your show and your fanbase. As I watched your show evolve, one key component you've added is concluding each episode with this statement: "Be kind to one another."

In today's society, that statement's an unspoken given. Sure, many of us see and perform acts of kindness in our day-to-day lives, but it's not something we tend to actively, deeply reflect upon. We're more likely to thank a stranger for holding open the door for us than to thank someone for being our friend. We're more likely to thank a barista for handing over our coffee than to thank a certain genuine, kind-hearted soul who uses her celebrity status not to flaunt her wealth, but to promote the goodness in humanity.

Watching your show and hearing that statement, I've been reflecting on my life, and the people I've met along the way. I've realized that those I've crossed paths with, like my classmate-turned-best-friend, have innately followed your motto and treated me with such kindness.

And yet, I've never thought to thank them.

I haven't seen that friend in over a decade, and I've never met you. Regardless, I want to express my gratitude and appreciation in reminding me to thank those who went of their way to show me kindness (my friend and I follow each other on social media, so I'll be easily able to thank her).

So thank you, and continue doing what you do best: being kind.

Your forever grateful (and longtime) supporter,

Jess