Somehow, the universe decided that the moments that you feel the most thankful and humbled occur during some of the most trying times. Somehow, it is precisely during these times, these impossibly lowly lows, that I feel the most grateful for what I have and, more precisely, who I have supporting me and loving me unconditionally. It can't be the holiday season without some major introspection so this week, as part of my series on the holidays, I would like to give credit where credit is due. If it weren't for my mami, I don't know how I would have survived this current situation or college or anything, really. So, thank you, mami.

~ Thank you for picking up the phone at odd hours ~

Even if you're half asleep or doing three things at once, you are there for me. Just hearing your voice is enough to soothe my soul but your calm and gentle advice makes me feel safe again. And I can always count on you to be the one person who understands what I'm trying to say without saying it.

~ Thank you for sending me lots of silly emojis and terrible dad jokes (mom jokes?) throughout the day ~

Honestly, sometimes these annoy the hell out of me but once my initial worry about losing more storage on my phone dispels, these gifs and pictures definitely make my day a little bit brighter.

~ Thank you for hearing me out but also thank you for shutting me down (sometimes, we all need someone to ground us in reality when the world feels like it's crashing into the sun) ~

Your best ideas yet have been to log off Facebook and Twitter for a while and to stop refreshing my news app every ten minutes. I seriously needed to be told to do that.

~ Thank you for making me laugh and reminding about all of the crazy things I did growing up ~

We have the same weird sense of humor which, as we know, can be quite dangerous. If you leave us alone in a room together we will most likely end up on the floor wheezing and holding our tummies from laughing any more. Most of the time though it's a lot of fun.

~ Thank you for understanding my anxieties and fears and frustration and anger, and accepting them instead of questioning them ~

There are no words to express how thankful I am for this one. I am so lucky to have you be the one to share my highs and lows with, and have them bring us only closer together.

~ Thank you for never making me feel alone even while we’re thousands of miles apart ~

I start every day by telling you about my plans for the day and I end every day by telling you about my plans for tomorrow. It never feels like you're more than a minute away.

~ Thank you for visiting me this weekend ~

Even though you've mainly just watched me do homework, your presence has brought so much peace to my soul. They say home is where the heart is, but you've really brought home with you. And that's exactly what I needed right now and probably forever.

Thank you.