I think that there is someone out there for everyone who really just didn't believe in them. They never saw the potential and they never saw the greatness that that person could become. So, for the one who assumed that they would see my downfall, this is my gift to you.

I think that I owe a lot to you. Without you, I never could have pushed myself to be who I am now. I never would have had the drive to really go for my dreams or to have had the passion to succeed. Having you there to always wait for my defeat pushed me harder every day as I worked toward my aspirations.

I spent so much of my time trying to show you what I was worth. I worked day in and day out, trying to be the best that there ever had been, but it was never good enough. There was always a fatal flaw, something that wasn't perfection, or, at least, that wasn't perfection in your eyes. I found myself torn, trying to figure out how to shape myself into the person who you seemed to admire the most, changing the way that I performed and the way that I thought about performing while still trying to keep a grasp on the person who I was. It was challenging and I never succeeded because I needed to be myself more than I needed to be the one who you favored.

So, thank you. Thank you for never making me the favorite, for never cheering me on the loudest, and for never telling me that I did a good job. Thank you for making me feel that I would never be good enough. Thank you for everything because without you I would have never grown. Every day that I was pushing myself to be better, I was growing. I was making so much better than I could have been if you would have just told me "good job" after everything that I did. Thank you never playing your favoritism in my direction, because it taught me what the power of hard work is.

I've learned that hard work really does pay off. It teaches you dedication, passion, and, most of all, commitment. Wanting to be the best requires commitment and to want to be the best, there has to be a drive. I'm so thankful that you could be that drive for me, constantly motivating me to be the best I could be, because I would be nowhere without the drive.

You also showed me how to appreciate the ones who stood behind me, the people who saw the spark that was lit inside of me and who helped to cultivate it and turn it into a firework. You showed me that they were there and it gave me more appreciation for them and for what they were doing for me. Thanks to your treatment of me, I learned who was supporting me, who was rooting for me, and who was standing behind my dreams.

Most of all, I want to take a step back and look at where I am today. I am undeniably proud of who I am and what I have accomplished. I've had once-in-a-lifetime experiences that I will never forget and I'm in love with so many things about my life. Behind everything that I have accomplished, though, is the voice that was telling me that I was never good enough, telling me to just work that much harder, to practice that much longer, and to be that much more powerful. I was. I worked harder, I practiced longer, and I was powerful. For that, I will be forever grateful.