Hey, there.

Okay, so I am just going to say it - you are someone I am so incredibly thankful to have crossed paths with. I think most things happen for a reason, and you coming into my life was definitely one of those things. I personally believe there is something incredibly powerful about pursuing your passions - pursuing a life and career in which makes you come alive. There is something incredibly meaningful and influential when a passionate person is caught being unapologetically themselves. I think it is the people who say, "fuck it, I am going to be myself today," who are the people that change the world. They are the people we remember. They are the people who will always leave a heart print in my soul - no matter where life takes either of us.

Thank you for not letting society or the wrong people shape you into something ingenuine. It is when we conform to others we lose what makes us special... it is then where we lose part of our individuality... and we miss our full potential. Thank you for keeping your head up high and being a leader. Thank you for batting your eyelashes at the haters and moving forward. Thank you for fighting for yourself. You have encouraged me to be myself. There was a time in my life where I let people and organizations change who I am - even change my identity. I did not choose to do this, but because I lacked a strong sense of self at the time, it happened at the snap of a finger. I realized the hard way that conforming and changing through other people only makes you unhappier than you were before. I learned filling voids only hurts you. Thank you for being a leader in my life. Thank you for showing me I deserved better. Thank you for showing me there are happier, more promising things in life waiting for me when I open my eyes.

Thank you for not judging me. Thank you for listening to me. I read a quote once about the importance and difference between responding and truly listening. Thank you for simply listening - whether I felt I had something important to share or questions to ask. Thank you for also accepting whatever emotions I brought to the table in addition to what I wanted to share.

Thank you for holding out a hand to me. Maybe you were not necessarily trying to push me forward, or maybe you were - I don't know. But I know for certain - you got my attention. I heard you and saw you. I needed a role model like you in my life. You helped me become the person I am proud of today. You have impacted my life in a positive way I will not forget.

We need more people like you in this world - people giving a voice to those who have so much potential - but are having trouble seeing it. We need more people like you - to show others we have the ability to push each other up - that we don't have to beat each other down to succeed. We can truly change the world through love. Thank you for being a peacemaker.

I hope you realize how special you are. I hope you read this and feel inspired. I hope it makes you feel all fuzzy inside... because I mean every word of it. You deserve to hear how great you are... because you are a peacemaker. You are a leader of love in a modern time of trouble and hate. Thank you for everything you do, and I hope you continue to be you - and not let ignorance or uninformed people minimize your talents and gifts you offer to this world.

I hope one day I am able to inspire others like you inspired me. I hope one day my passions make me feel alive every single day. I hope to make an impact one day - and make half the heart print on someone else, you have forever left on my soul.

Lots of love,

:)