To my boyfriend:

You have taught me everything I know about the journey and endeavors of love, and you’ve never stopped making me feel worthy of every second of yours. For almost four years, you’ve shown me continuously how to live freely and to seek happiness in the littlest of things. You never stopped believing in me, even in the times when I epically messed up. You saw something in me the day we met, and you’ve since drawn that person out into the open – you helped me become someone I’m proud of. You’ve occupied the second half of myself I never knew I had, and for that I have a series of thank yous:

Thank you for loving dogs as much as me (it would have been a deal breaker if you didn’t) and sharing my enthusiasm each time we encounter one on the street (which is a lot). Thank you for letting me babble when I’m nervous and for listening to my endless rants when I’m frustrated. Thank you for ordering fries for yourself because you know I will literally growl if you ever try to eat any of mine. Thank you for answering the phone, half asleep, when I call you just to say hi after a late shift at work. Thank you for putting up with me when I complain about how hot it is on summer nights and then allowing me to steal the covers the moment I drift to sleep.

Thank you for anchoring me: for the unending hugs when I’m sad and for the guidance when I’m lost in my head. Thank you for attempting to understand my film addiction and for trying to console me when I get inexplicably emotional after a really good movie. Thank you for asking me what book I’m reading and for always wondering how I’m doing. Thank you for watching countless episodes of "One Tree Hill"with me and for nodding sympathetically when I talk about how much of a mistake JoJo is making for loving Jordan.

Thank you for swimming in the ocean with me the entire time we’re at the beach even though you’re secretly freezing and your lips are blue. Thank you for taking me to wildlife parks and aquariums on my birthday because you know they’re my favorite. Thank you for letting your family become my second family and for asking me along when you all go on adventures. Thank you for taking my hand when we’re alone in your kitchen and dancing with me to the comforting melody of silence.

Thank you for loving me irrevocably and for knowing where my mind is at before I even do. You are my truth, my motivation, my strength and my weakness, and I’m so grateful that you’re a part of this world – you’re constantly brightening it, after all. I don’t know where the road we’re on is going to lead us, but no matter where we end up, you will always be in my heart, in my lungs, and in my bones. It has been an honor loving you, and I can’t wait to continue laughing and living by your side.