Dear Friends,

We were awkward when we met, as most middle schoolers and high schoolers are. I hadn’t had much luck finding friends, so I may have come across as a little weird, a little different, a little off. I didn’t have a lot in common with most people our age, so to find someone I fit in around was a huge relief and a great gift. Thanks for seeing past all of that and befriending me anyway. Thanks for accepting me when I was a little rough around the edges and not solid in my faith yet. Thanks for building up and not tearing down. Thank you for being the kind of friends that encourage me to do new things and stretch myself. Thanks for keeping up with me in our college years and still caring about my life. Thanks for the memories that I’ll always have. Thanks for standing with me through the good and the bad. Thanks for being the friends I’ve had for five plus years and I’m sure I will have for many more years.

Thanks for being only a phone call or text away, even though we don’t hang out a lot anymore. Thanks for being the friends I have some of my best memories with, the ones with the inside jokes and the shared appreciation of things like football or movie franchises. Thanks for fangirling with me over Facebook about a T.V. series reboot or sharing a piece of your heart with me. Thanks for all the ways your friendship improves my life. Thank you for the advice and the good times. Thank you for pointing me towards Christ and away from myself.

Thank you for the many reminders over the years that I am indeed human, and I can’t possibly do it all.

Thanks for sitting and talking to me for hours on end every time we see each other. Thanks for being the friends with whom I never run out of things to talk about.

Thanks for the over abundant amount of grace you shower me with. I never have to be concerned about how I come across when I’m with you, or what you might think of me. Thank you for always letting me be myself and for being the people I’m always comfortable around.

Thanks for loving me through all the difficult points in my life. When my great-grandma passed away, when I was in a car accident, you were some of the people who were the most comforting to me. You’ve always had my back, through everything, and I want to thank you for that. For loving me and being present through all of the "stuff" in my life, whether it was traumatic experiences or just my own drama. Thanks for not treating me any differently during my ups and downs, and for always treating me with kindness and loyalty. I’m blessed by all of you, and I hope I never forget how much.

In Friendship,

Shannon