For most people, a “support system” is some conglomeration of family and friends. While that remains true for me, the lines between who is which have become untraceable: those I call my friends are now my family, just as those I call my family are some of my best friends.
The people I speak to now should know who they are. While it isn’t a group that is large in numbers, it is one that I love with ferocity. The most important thing in life is to surround yourself with goodness, and in that sense, I have truly succeeded. My life is a mosaic of great people—each in their own way—and this letter is dedicated to them.
To my biggest inspiration: All I ever wanted was to be like you. All I ever wanted was for you to think I was cool. You taught me not to care what anybody thinks. You taught me to be brave enough to just be me. To embrace the weirdness. To seek out the things that make me happy. To hell with everybody else. I watch you succeed on your own terms and it inspires me to do the same. You test the waters before I jump in. But I will always follow.
To the man who taught me to love life: In a world pretending not to care, you taught me to be a brutally soft woman. You taught me to love openly and honestly, to wear my heart on my sleeve. You taught me the importance of Sunday morning bacon and eggs. You taught me that a little music can fix everything and to never be afraid to sing along. Because of you, I laugh at the funny parts, cry at the sad parts, and dance when I’m happy.
To my soul mate: You are not just one thing to me. You are everything. My closest confidant, personal therapist, drinking buddy. Mother figure. Best friend. Other-half. Everybody deserves that one person in their life that they share everything with. For me, that is you. You are my person.
My life hasn’t always been an easy one, but it has been a good one, and I owe every ounce of my happiness to the people I love. To the girl who refuses to let me cry alone. The man who never stops fighting for me. The friend that never gave up on our friendship. The first person to make me feel like I belong.
I always write about broken hearts, but never about what happens next. The truth is people leave. Find yourself the ones who choose to stay.