Someone very important to me recently reminded me how important friendship is and how blessed I am to be surrounded by so many amazing people. I don’t show it enough because I’m not exactly the kind of person who wears my emotions on my sleeve, but I realize I need to remember to take a moment and recognize these people more often than I do. As much as I might pretend to not need anyone in my corner, that is far from the truth. So I’m going to take a moment, take a step back and thank the people I don’t thank enough.
Thank you to the one who pulled me out of the worst time of my life by the scruff of my neck, then tossed me over a fence.
To the ones who taught me everything I know, starting with not to volunteer to cover a panel that takes place on a home football Saturday, thank you.
To the ones jumping with me, thank you for having faith and trusting in me not to let you down.
Thank you to the one who makes me comfortable enough to step out of my comfort zone, almost always with an assist from you.
To the one who challenges me to carefully examine other viewpoints while accepting my own, thank you — but I still disagree with you.
Thank you to the buddy who has been by my side since the very beginning of my time at Notre Dame, and who I know will be there for the rest of my life.
To the one who may be my polar opposite in disposition, sleep schedule, eating habits and exercise habits, but shares my eye size, thanks for always making me laugh.
Thank you to the one who proved that it’s never too late to become friends with someone, even if you weren’t prepared to do so when you first had the chance.
To the ones who welcomed me with open arms when I was worried I wouldn’t fit in, thank you, even though the constant notifications on my phone can be a little overwhelming occasionally for someone like me.
Thank you to the one who has never let me charge into battle solo and who has set one heck of an example.
To the one who is so much like family that I know nothing either one of us does or says will ever break our friendship, thank you for always answering no matter what crazy time it is there.
To the one I can’t even sum up with so few words, thank you for being my No. 1.
And finally, thank you to the four people who have always been, and will always be, the absolute best parts of my life for always pushing me to be a better person without even realizing it.
And I guess thank you to whoever has read this far for bearing with me as I got possibly more sentimental than I’ve ever been. As I said, it took a reminder from someone else for me to really take a moment and appreciate all the people I have in my life, so hopefully this serves as yours.
