Well, I was going to leave thank you cards for all you guys on your beds right before we left so you would find them after I was already at school and you were home, but Ally's soccer game kind of ruined that (Thanks Ally!). It's OK, though. This is much cooler, eh?
This is both the easiest thank-you card and the hardest....easy because I won't be short on material, and hard because I had to go through all this webpage-making crap. Just kidding.....obviously it's the hardest because I'm leaving the people that I've known and seen and loved every day for the last 18 years of my life.
Mom and Dad, where can I begin? The two of you have made sacrifices for Ally and I that I can't even fathom. I don't even know how to start thanking you. When I was born, I'm sure you had to put your lives and dreams on hold so you could care for me. To be so young raising such a small child.....I'm sure it was hard at first, but obviously you got the hang of it. And as I got older, you were always there to support me in whatever I wanted to do......baseball, basketball, swimming, O.M......whatever it may have been...as long as I liked to do it, I was given the opportunity. And through my teenage years, the story remained the same....pretty much any night I wanted to go out with my friends, it was fine. The only problem was, you guys were always bugging me and bugging me...."Where are you going?" "Who are you going with?" "How are you getting there?" "How are you getting home?" Man, it was nonstop, and it really annoyed me. You guys never let up.
Thank God.
Now that I look back, I realize that it wasn't out of spite or mean-spiritednes that these questions kept flowing. It was concern and love. I can't help but think that I'm headed where I am today because you guys annoyed the hell out of me. So thank you.
And Ally.....looks like this is the last time you'll be reading an internet thank-you card from me before I go to school, along with all of the other "lasts" this summer. I've looked at other sets of siblings among my friends and thought "Man, they sure do fight a lot." I'm glad it isn't like that with you and me. It never really has been. In fact, I haven't met many people in 18 years that worry about other people as much as you do....always letting me use the phone when I need it, offering to get off the computer every night....most little sisters would give up quite a fight. I don't think I've ever said this, (in fact I know I haven't) but there aren't many people I know that I respect more than you. You've always had the courage to just be yourself and not worry about what other people think, and for what it's worth, that's the quality I admire most in a person. Believe it or not, you've been quite an inspiration to me. Remember when I always used to bug you about dressing and acting like a boy? It never got to you, no matter what I said. I've always remembered that, and probably always will.
So if there's one piece of advice I can give you as you head into quite a life change of your own, that would be it....just be yourself, and don't let anyone else make you think that that's less than amazing. Don't dwell on what other people think or what they say. And if this sounds corny, oh well.....it's the best advice I could ever give you. I spent the first two years of high school thinking about what people would think or say if I did this or said this, and believe me.....it's no fun. Think about it this way......after you get done with these next four years, you'll never see 90% of the people you're worried about thinking bad of you ever again. And after these next four years, you have about 60 more years left. I know that's hard to think about now, but as soon as I figured it out, I started having a lot more fun.
So that's about it, guys. Thank you for everything you've done for me, and thank you in advance for everything you will do. I only hope I can do half of what you three have done for me. I love you all very much.
-Mike