In the bustle of day to day life, we often take the most important aspects of our lives for granted. With Thanksgiving just around the corner, this time of the year is wonderful for expressing gratitude for the people around us, especially the people we may forget to be readily thankful for on every other day of the year. As we give our thanks, some people deserve a thank you that goes above and beyond because they go above and beyond for us every day of the year.

To my family,

You have been there to support me through all of my endeavours this year. From the transition from high school to college and all of the bittersweet milestones that accompanied it, you were there to enjoy all of the wonderful moments and mourn all sad moments right alongside of me. You stood back and let me shine when it was my time to do so, but you also kept me grounded when my head was in the clouds.

Thank you for always knowing what to say to keep me headed in the right direction. Whether I needed words of encouragement or a reality check, you were always there to give me both and had a spidey sense for when I needed each of them. While I may sound cliché by saying thank you for loving me at my best and worst, that is exactly what you did for me this year, and I’m eternally grateful for it. You cheered me on when I received scholarships, graduated at the top of my class, got accepted to college and through all of my other achievements, both large and small. You cheered me on when it was easy to support me. However, you also supported me when it wasn’t, and that was when it really mattered. When I “gave up” my childhood dreams and pursuing other options, you were there to pick up the pieces when I fell apart, thinking every decision I made was a wrong turn or a dead turn. You supported me when every decision I made went against all of my plans, and without your support I would not have made it this far. Thank you for always encouraging me to chase my dreams, while also reminding that dreams can change at anytime.

Thank you for the tough love. Thank you for always reminding me I am not entitled to a single thing and somewhere out there, someone else is fighting for the opportunities you gave me. You taught me to be a productive member of society because you constantly held me to high expectations. As this major transition year of my life comes to a close and I look back on all the positive changes that took place in my life, I know where I ended up is a reflection of the effort and faith you placed on me. You forked over thousands of dollars so I could get an education and chase the life of my dreams. You became an active part in my quest for success, while loving me during every part of that journey. You sat in the front row while you let me become the star of my very own show.

Our family is anything but perfect: we fight, we almost never agree, we are bluntly honest with each other, we laugh about serious matters, and we are a wonderful blend of blood-relation and love-relation, but at the end of each chaotic day, love is still the secret ingredient to the beauty of our everyday lives. It shines through each and every situation we end up in and is truly the stitching that holds us together, as it should. Although some days pass and I look you all and wish I could think to myself, “not my circus, not my monkeys,” following those thoughts is the realization that you are my monkeys, this is my circus, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. As this year ends, I am more thankful now than ever before that I was granted several imperfect people that complete my life in an absolutely perfect way.

With love,

The daughter/ sister that couldn’t do life without you