To my first college advisor,

First off, I want to thank you for everything that you've done for me in my first few years of college. You happily welcomed me into my major and made sure I knew that I could always talk to you if I had a problem. Thank you for also teaching me that my problems were insignificant and not worthy of your attention. Thank you for brushing them aside like cracker crumbs off the table, refusing to acknowledge the fact that I was hurting. I came to you looking for understanding, I wanted you to tell me you knew what it felt like because you were in my shoes once and made it through.

The response I got was keep going, just push through it. Ignore your feelings and just do what you need to do. When I couldn't do that, you called me lazy. You called me lazy for sleeping after I had worked 12 hours in one day and 3 more hours working on homework. You said I was lazy for sleeping in after staying up until three in the morning trying to get all the work done. You told me that I no longer belonged in my major and I should think about something else. As crazy as it sounds I really want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for that.

You made me realize that I didn't want to be stuck just doing something that I loved for the rest of my life. I would have been miserable having the job I thought I wanted. You showed me that I shouldn't pursue my love, I had to pursue my passion. What I love would be a great part-time job, but my passion would get me an amazing full-time job. I came to realize that you weren't tearing me down to hurt me. You did it to help me.

I'm now in a major that I love and doing what I love every day. I'm working for me and not for anyone else. And I'm making myself happy and not worrying about what others think. Thank you for tearing me down so I could build myself up higher. It took me so long to realize this and I can't thank you enough. Thank you.