Warning: Mushy post ahead!
Everyone. I love you all. Please realize how precious life is. Hold every glittering moment as tightly as you can and let everyone who means something to you know it. Take every opportunity given to you, fill your life up with what makes you happy, surround yourself with fabulous people. Make memories, laugh often, dance wild and crazy techo dances with your little brother and sister with a strobe light in the middle of the night. Catch bagels on fire in the microwave and fan the dorm room smoke detector to prevent it from sounding. Buy heart-shaped cookie dough with sincere intentions of baking it for your Indian lover, only to sneak and eat it with a fantastic suitemate instead. Don't be afraid to wear fuschia tights and leopard stilettos- at the same time. Take your best friend to Fiesta Bravo, buy a chocolate enchilada, and devour it ravenously in front of about 20 total hotties, only to later discover they were homosexual. Run around the Galt House in your skivvies to go and pick up your pizza. Pee in the lake on your brothers while wearing a hideous orange life preserver. Don't be ashamed to admit that you love to read trashy vacation romance novels. Plan fantastic trips to Paris with your sister!
Mom- You are the best! Always willing to listen to boy troubles, make sure that I have just the right shade of lipstick, or that I've got just the right glue to get my fake boobs to stick! I know I give you a hard time about everything, but you've always been my #1 fan and I can't imagine finding a better Mom than you. I love how I feel that I can come to you with any problem, and that you will understand. You are such a great people person, and I envy that. You are outgoing and get what you want out of life. I am so happy that I have you to push me to believe in myself and mold me into a true lady. I know that I tend to be a little on the eccentric side, from wearing weird clothes and makeup to considering doing crazy things to my hair. You will always be there to help me out of my fashion faux-paus and other crazy predicaments I seem to find myself in.
Dad- I have you to thank for my fabulous art skillz. Haha... and the fact that I can pull a 16 page paper outta my butt the night before it is due and still get an A+ on it. You are always there to help get me outta trouble, from my overspending woes to my difficulties in getting things done properly. You are my rock and the person that I look up to the most. You are so intelligent and have a quiet calmness to you. I know that you are listening, even when you are watching UK playing basketball, letting the yapping poodles out, or playing that darned freecell game on the computer. You have instilled in me a drive to make something of myself and are always expecting nothing but the best from me. Plus, who else am I gonna share my love of chocolate icecream, pistachios, and foot twitching with?
Brysen- I look at you and see such strength! Haha... literally and metaphorically. You have such self-control. To take care of your body so well- it amazes me! You are such a great athlete. And so brilliant too. If I could only be as great at science as you. I know for sure that you will definitely succeed at whatever you put yourself to because you have such a drive. Just think, you've only got one more year ahead of you and you'll be in college. Hopefully at UofL! And most assuredly, on a full ride. You have great taste in music and clothes (lol... hey, I'm not afraid to admit that it may even be better than mine!)
Mesa- You are my very best girlfriend! No one will ever know me as you do. And no one will ever put up with me like you do! Who else will sleep with me when I curl up in a ball and twitch my feet? Who else will love me even when I steal all her makeup and earrings and purses? Who else will roll their eyes as Mom's poodles come trotting along? Who else will cook me macaroni and cheese with mashed potatoes and chocolate pudding? Who else knows exactly what I would like at a clothing store? Who else will get ecstatic with me when we find a new Kate Canne book? Who else is going to go fleamarketing with me in Paris? Who else has enviable red curly hair and a fabulous porcelain complexion? Who else will I watch Unwrapped, Sex and the City, Passport to Europe, Emeril, and Isaac with? Who? Who I say?! Ahh... I would surely die without my Mesa!
Baylen- You are truly amazing. You have one of the kindest hearts I know and are always there for me. Always. I love that we have shared so many fun times, like Homestarrunner marathons and techno dancing nights! You are so good at all the sports you try like soccer, football, and now basketball!!! Thank you for always letting me camp out in your bed when I come home and for always being there to cheer me up when I'm down. I know that you will be so great at whatever you want to be when you grow up, whether it's a famous chef or an archaeologist! You are very smart and have a good head on your shoulders. Always remember that God loves you and is smiling down on you! :)
To the Perry Family Dogs:
Toto- I miss you. I really really do. You were our first real pet and such a great watchdog. PS- I'm sorry for always feeding you junkfood!
Princess- Oh my gosh. I love you and miss you like crazy. I loved the way you always made that sniffling noise when you stuck your head up against my leg or on my lap. And the fact that your little mustache could never stay clean for a second. I still have your little toy with me here. :(
Carlyle- Oh Carlie/Carley/Carlyle/Carl/Hot Carl/Carlyocelotalopagus... I adore you for your fabulously versatile name and your cool streamlined body. It's also fun to feed you pieces of bread and various other strange foods that you will bury beneath Brysen's billowing covers, only for him to discover rotting 2 months later. Oh yeah, you also make a really cool noise when I squoosh you.
Ebbie- Ok. Let's get this straight from the get-go. I think you're cool. Cooler than Chanel, although we probably shouldn't go around telling her that! You are so darned friendly, almost to the point of being obnoxious. But I know it's cause you love me. If you could be an inanimate object, you'd for sure be one of those big, yellow Walmart smiley face stickers.
Chanel- Ok. Let's get this straight from the get-go. I think you're cool. Cooler than Ebbie, although we probably shouldn't go around telling her that! Your strangely familiar neckfolds are my hero and so is the fact that you can move your mouth like Slippy the Frog from Starfox.
And so to all of the wonderful people who are in my life right now, or who have been in my life in the past, or soon to be in the future, I am so greatful. It's all about love. About appreciating the beautifully arranged fleeting moments that we're given here on Earth. It's funny how when you fear you may lose everything, not just yourself, but your dignity, your courage, your hope, your faith, and maybe even those who truly love you.... that is when you grasp as closely as you can to it all. And realize that life really is better than you could have even imagined. | 
