I have never loved anyone this much until I met you. We started off on the wrong foot but we're still traveling with our feet on the ground and our heads up high. You make me feel invincible and independent, you made me realize how beautiful the world is and how beautiful you truly are. You made me love.

It is a huge privilege to be a part of your life knowing how far you'll go and how wide your horizons will be. Your existence keeps me alive and your life is a part of my existence. You are built with armor from your past and strength from your battles. You didn't slay dragons but you slew beasts. You didn't beat witches but you beat death. You didn't save a damsel in distress but you saved me.

We've grown from tradition and Sunday clothes. We've blossomed like poppies and roses. From power drills to pain pills to painting skills; we've grown. Jamming to the classics and singing on our own. Our inside jokes and unstoppable laughter not only brightens our day but other people's day. We've laughed and cried and lived. You made me enjoy life.

It's been years since breathing was painful and living is out of the question. My motivation is a series of lists and bullet points but you are one huge category.

I have loved you since we shared our stories and I will love you until we share each other's stories. Communicating through every platform with different topics no matter how deep or silly, we still pick up the phone. The distance is heartbreaking as it is but you make me appreciate our time together.

Seeing you grow and grow makes me so proud of who you've become and what you've achieved. No matter how different your future may be compared to what you're expecting always know that I will be behind you to encourage you, beside you to accompany you and in front of you to guide you. You make life bearable.

Looking out of my window and seeing the Chicago skyline makes me think of how your view looks like. Walking to class seeing an old tree beside a lecture hall makes me think of what you see while walking to class. We will experience college differently than each other but I hope that someday I will know how you see college and how you see life. You are about to go on an extraordinary journey with the distance between us and I cannot wait to catch up with you at the end of the finish line. I didn't realize that home is not a place but it's the moments and feeling of comfort that you experience with people you love. You are and will always be a part of my home. Kansas or Oz we’ll always find a way back home.