Gratitude

Hey guys! This one goes out to a lot of people. Over the past few years, I have met some of the most amazing people, whether it be through their companionship, skill in their field, their overall character, or a myriad of other reasons. I would never trade any of these people for the world or anything it could possibly offer me. So to show my gratitude, I drew this as a thank you. Now for a few shout-outs, not in any specific order…

Also, have a song I dedicate to every single one of you: www.youtube.com/watch?v=7du-RH…

Annalee Marie: Firstly, to the girl who inspired me to show my gratitude to everyone! Anna, you are such a cutie! Everything you do, from your art, to the way you communicate through text and actual speech… Your heart is just a warm and golden one. I admire you for it extremely, and I only wish that I was as pure as you are in my eyes! I have not known you for very long, but I pray I know you for a long time yet! Stay strong my dear, be confident in your choices, and keep being you! I know you’ll go great places!

Morgan Tueller: For nearly two years now, you and I have been knit close. You’ve had some very hard times hit you, and I pray my company has helped at least a little. I know yours has helped me in times of distress! I hope you know I will always stay by your side through these times. I know it doesn’t always seem like the world isn’t fair, and it isn’t. But I know you have the power to find the light in it, wherever it may be hiding at times. I love you, Morgan! You’re such a sweet and tender soul, and over these past few months, I’ve seen you grow dramatically. I have faith in you!

Christine Newman: I haven’t heard from you in a long time, which makes me a little sad to be honest. But what I do know is that you inspired me to strengthen my faith, and search for the denomination that fits me best so that I may be close to God. You’re a brilliant writer, as you’re able to portray emotion to the point while reading your book, I did cry a few times. Your art portrays just as much feeling, and I only pray you continue to improve! I know that your mind and even your body have fought against you in various ways… Sometimes they may win the battles, but you will conquer the war! Go girl go!

Mikaela Butler: I have not really spoken with you in a while either. Heck, we’ve never even met in real life! But I feel like I have, but it’s just been a long time seen we’ve seen each other. You’ve been such a huge inspiration to me in terms of mental strength. There have been many times in my life where you’ve been there, giving me a kick in the ass when I needed it. Without you, I don’t know if I would even have a spine! You’ve taught me to suck it up, deal with it, or even fight back when need be. I love you, Mikaela, like that big, tough older sister I’ve always needed in my life. Keep on kicking ass!

Crystal Goettler: I have so many things to thank you for. You were the one that got me into roleplaying all those years ago (remember that Soul Eater roleplay we did? Good times). You’ve been such a role-model to me over the years. Every time something hit you hard, you knew how to resolve yourself and keep pushing on! Not only that, but you have followed your dreams to advance your skills in dance, and seeing someone work that hard and be so passionate is extremely inspiring! You’ve even found someone to love that I know supports you well and will keep you happy. I feel like I’ve known you my whole life, but we’ve just never met in person. I still pray I can get my butt up to Pennsylvania to meet the woman who’s reminded me to keep on smiling! Your cosplays are kick-butt too, by the way!

Sarah Henson: Another strong woman I’ve known for a long time! You’re so darn sassy, I can’t even handle it. Through you, I’ve developed so many characters and gone through so much in my life, you have your own permanent place in my heart. I’ve watched your art improve beyond what words can describe, and I know it will go on even farther. We’ve had many times where we didn’t speak for weeks, or even months, but every time we start communicating again, it’s like we only spoke yesterday. I hope I never lose contact with you.

Georgia Williams: You are such a freaking cutie patootie I don’t even have words for it! Your art is just as cute as you are! We’ve spent many a late night being derps and role-playing with our characters doing everything from busting out of prison to snuggling in cabins. Can’t get much better than that! We seem to enjoy sharing silly little tidbits of our lives with one another, and even some of the deeper stuff. I’m glad I can confide in you and also be an art role model for you! Please kick college’s butt. It needs it.

Margaret Deffenbaugh and Family: Margaret, Madre… You mean so much to me. There have been times where we haven’t had a solid conversation in days, even weeks have gone by sometimes. But in the end, we always get together to catch up, and it’s a beautiful thing. I’m so happy to call you my internet mother, a woman who would never abandon me as I have never done to you. Indirectly, you’ve shown me that the real world isn’t nice. You’ll get in a car wreck, have to look for a new job, deal with people stabbing you in the back. But knowing you will be by my side through thick and thin makes me a little less scared to take on the world, and even myself as I grow up (as any mother should!). Our minds work so well together, and I look forward to continuing Zane and Tawny’s crazy adventures! I’m also thankful for you family accepting me into its fold, even if they do not know me all that well. It’s a blessing to know you guys are there for me… Please tell everyone hello for me! I love you!

Robert Cojocaru: May I say your art is totally gorgeous? Holy cow, you’re not as young as you are in your artistic spirit! Though you’re all the way in Italy, you’ve always supported me in my art and other life endeavors, and I cannot thank you enough for that. That and you always seem to be a ray of sunshine, and it’s always a pleasure to talk to you, even if it’s for a short time! Stay amazing my little Italian friend! I still hope we can meet in person someday! I need to go back to Italy anyway~

Chloe Dunaway , Sam Sharpsteen, Tatra Luke, Renee and Meghan Benoit : You all inspire me in similar ways, so I’ll get right to it. All of you have such amazing art styles that I can’t even comprehend it. It’s been a long time since I’ve had a detailed conversation with any of you, and since we’ve been in school together, you’ve all gone to do your own things. It’s amazing to see where people can go with their art in the world, and it’s great to see you all reaching out. I admire all of you for your optimism, witty ways, and overall character that I wish I could get to know more! All of you have even been pretty supportive of my art, even if it’s as simple as a little like on Facebook when I post an artwork. It means so much to me that people I admire look at my work and think “Hey, that’s pretty good!” Thank you so, so much for that.

The Edwards Family: I’ve known you all for such a long time, I feel as if I am a part of your family! To Victoria, you’re the one I met first and am the closest to. Though even sometimes I do not talk to you for long periods of time, we’ve somehow kept pretty close over the years. I pray we continue to do so. I value you as a friend so deeply I don’t know what I would do if I lost my amazing writer companion who hates cheese. Olivia and Lara, you’re both so artistic, and I admire you both as artists greatly! Olivia, in particular, you’re such a zany little dork, as if you were my own little sister. Lara, congrats on graduating college! I’m so happy for you! Katy, I hope you continue to work with theater and plow through college loud and proud. To the parents, Kevin and Suzanne, I hope you know how much of a blessing your family is to me. You’ve allowed me to come in and your always warm welcomes always make me smile. You both are very hard-working people, and you deserve every blessing you receive in life. Thank you so much for everything.

The Evers Family: My true second family, you all mean so darn much to me I cannot put it into words. Cara, my best friend of nearly 14 years. I love you so much. You’ve literally been by my side for many, many years, always giving me a hug when I need it, whether I say I do or not. You know me so well, perhaps even better than I know myself. The amount of inside jokes, the experiences we’ve gone through as that pair that people questioned as lesbian at times, and the total hours we’ve stayed up giggling about anything and everything are infinite. (Know I’m tearing up as I type this) I am so grateful for that smiling face of yours, your voice singing next to mine, and your companionship even if there were a couple years where we barely spoke. Thank you, sososo much. To the rest of the family, thank you for taking me up in your arms, for offering me a place that is always open, for letting me walk with you through so many life experiences, and for dealing with the pain in the butt that is me over the years.  You are just as much of my family as those related to me by blood, and I pray that bond stays through the years as I grow.

Guila Medrano and Family: Guila… What would I do without you? I swear the stars aligned so that we would meet at the exact time that we needed to in our lives. If it weren’t for the fact that our races are so different, you could have literally been my sister. Your optimism about the things I get bummed out about and your bubbly and excited personality keeps me going a lot of the time. Your connection to your faith is amazing to me. If I hadn’t met you, I don’t know where I would be today. Through so many troubling times, you reminded me that the world goes on, I’m not alone, and that there’s always something to smile about. I’ve laughed and cried in your little arms so many times that I can’t count them all. You’re stuck with me, sister. You’re still the Watson to my Sherlock, the Iron Man to my Captain America… Need I go on? I freaking love you girly. To your family, I am proud to know that they trust me, even to the slightly extreme point of saying “If she’s not there, we don’t want my daughter going there.” Through nearly three short years, I’ve become a part of your family, and I cannot thank you enough for that. Enough so to even be invited to see your father get baptized. It’s an honor and a pleasure to be in your family!

Taija Masterson: I don’t think I have to say much here. You’re sassy, confident, and you’ve always been there for me. We began really being friends in French Class, and from there we’ve only grown as friends. I know you’re not one to really get close to a lot of people, so considering we’ve been friends for so long is an extremely huge honor to me. I love your art, your taste in media in general (I can’t stop listening to “Lolly”…). Someday we’ll have to go to Oklahoma to kick some butt, if you know what I mean!

Amanda Barner: Where do I even begin with you? You always seem to be one step ahead of me when it comes to school-smarts, and somehow I find it amusing. Just a little higher than me on each little test and quiz… I don’t know. Your art seeps with inspiration and passion, and just talking to you and being around you makes me want to create and explore what I can do with my imagination. Your humor is all full of wit and just be a freaking silly dorkus, and it always makes me laugh. I honestly can’t be sad around you! The amount of stuff that goes on in your brain is much more than I can comprehend, and even getting a little insight on what’s going on in that brilliant mind of yours is an honor. I’m so looking forward to spending time with you in Aruba!

Rachel Lyons: Over this past year or so, we've gotten pretty close! Do I know everything about you? Nope. But what I do know is that you've got my back, and that our mind work so brilliantly together than the stories we've made will always make me laugh and smile, sometimes even wanna cry a little. Deci forever! I love you girlfriend! Congrats on graduating, and I pray we continue to grow as friends!

Lillian Spoon: Bro. Daen. Lilly. All the other silly names I call you by. For a while there, we didn’t talk very much. I don’t know what happened for those couple of years, but I’m so glad that we discovered our mutual love for Supernatural! It’s bonded us sp much this past school year! That and going through art ups and down, life kicking us both in the ass every once in a while but having each other to count upon, school in general…We’ve been through so much together! I’m so grateful I know you and that I can truly be a total idiot and silly weirdo with you. A lot of times, I really need it. I know we’ll be good friends for a long time; after all, you know it’s real when you’ve been stuck with someone in the same house for four days laughing about… Kanye…

Elise Mazzeo: I know you insult me every which way sometimes, but I know it’s all out of love. Thank you for being someone I can rant to about the silliest things. I wish I had gotten to know you more before this year, but singing with you and being out own little groupie in choir has been a fantastic ride! Knowing you trust me enough to confide in me and even allow me to hug you is something I know not everyone has, and I’m honored that you do trust me as much as you do. I plan on knowing you for a long time through music, the things we mutually love, including ranting about the things we find ridiculous and just totally unnecessary. I love ya girl!

Kyla Calderes: You are just straight up brilliant. I can’t say I apologize for not being your preferable sexual orientation, but we’ve both agreed that it’s for the best, considering who I ended up with. But in that little period where I was experimenting a bit with my sexuality was a rather fun and exciting time! I had never felt so sneaky or daring before. I’m so glad we’re still close friends though. Bouncing ideas off of you is like bouncing them off of a genius trampoline that takes any lame idea I had and amplifies it by ten when I get it bounces back to me. In the straightest way possible, you are adorable though. You’ll find the right girl. Just wait for when you bounce some idea off of them and you get something better than what you gave them. You have then found someone that can match you. Marry them.

Brayden Johnson: Oh you handsome butt.  It was only a matter of time before I got to you on this list. You are just… Wow. You make me feel so…so alive. Never before in my life has someone made me feel so calm in times where I would normally be freaking out, and then the next minute make my heart race and my stomach flutter with butterflies I didn’t even know existed. What can I say that I haven’t said before? I don’t care what anyone else has said to you, or even what you think of yourself. I love your laugh, that genuine smile that comes on your face when you do more than just shake your shoulders and grin in amusement, the look in your eyes and the way I swear to god your voice goes down and octave when we talk a little bit quieter to one another within our own private moments, how you turn nearly everything I say into a joke or the way we both bust down like fools when we realize the stupid word puns we’ve made. There are many nights where I really wish I could be next to you and fall asleep there, just to see what it feels like to wake up in the morning seeing you there. I swear I’m falling in love with you more and more every single day, and I pray you and I are together for many months, maybe even years, so come. I love you so much <3.

Stuart and Karrie Cunningham: My loving, absolutely amazing parents. I am fully aware that sometimes, I am a total brat. I have to clean the litterbox? Oh the woe! No but really, I don’t know if I’ve ever really expressed my gratefulness for you in words. To be able to say that I have two loving parents, happily married for nearly 21 years who provide and love their children is something not everyone can say. How you’ve dealth with me for 17 years is a miracle.  I cannot express how proud I am to be your daughter. You probably don’t know it, but whenever someone asks me, “So what do your parents do?” I happily proclaim that my father is an engineer and math wizard, and my mother works as a doctor who works the job that many couldn’t handle. To my father, being a stay-at-home dad is hard, and I’m so glad you decided to go back to school and become an engineer. You did an amazing job raising my brothers and I, but I personally think you’re a bit happier using your brain to problem solve and work. Congrats again on your PE Certificate! You really deserve it, Dad. To my mother, I know we don’t always get along. We both get irritated with each other sometimes. Just know that I admire you extremely. You work so hard at your job and deal with so many complications that it’s a miracle you’ve been able to raise three kids too. It baffles and amazes me. Tell me your secret sometime? I may need it someday. Despite our occasional bicker, when we have a good time, I remember it and laugh. I love both of you so much, and I can never repay the debt I owe to you for raising me so well to be the young woman I am growing up to be. Thank you.

 I love you all <3

Art belongs to me