n0t a waste 0f space.

Acknowledgements

There are days when I am surprised

By the little things that keep me going.

A fiery-haired girl who wears purple glasses

Or her friend who smells like chlorine all the time.

There are days when they grey-streaked boy's

Curls bring me a smile,

And there are times when I am amazed

At the strength of an oboist

Who smiles even as her heart gets broken.

There are lunches where I laugh till I cry

Because of the freshman at my table,

Or the cheerleader who surprised me with her heart.

Or maybe it's the girl reading Harry Potter next to me,

Or her friend who laughs a lot.

And as I'm walking to my least favorite class

I still think that I'm okay

Because I have an astronaut next to me

Who dreams of outer space.

I have a Cajun in Louisiana

Who rides horses and draws beautiful people

And I have a homeschooler with blonde beach waves

Who laughs louder and harder than anyone I know.

I have a blonde Pacesetter with beautiful blue eyes

And her 6 foot 4 and growing boy with a smile for me every day

And the fact that I'm not very amazing, but yet he still smiles even though he doesn't have to.

Even the black-haired boy who is larger than life

Who I thought I could maybe like, and then maybe hate,

Sometimes makes me laugh and remember

When we were close friends once.

There is the linebacker of the football team

Who told me I was fearless once,

And I doubt he even knows my name, or thought it was anything important

But little does he know that was one of the best compliments I'd ever heard

Or that I used to play basketball with his little sister.

But that's okay because I am fearless.

Or maybe it's the volleyball player

Who sometimes drives me up the walls

But she always brings me a smile

Or it's the setter and libero on my team

Who can laugh anything off at any time.

There's my mom with her Hollywood eyes

And my dad with carpenter's hands

The curly-haired bohemian who nannies two angels

And the blonde 6th grader

Who just wants to make people laugh.

Or it's the boy I see wearing a sweatshirt everyday

With my favorite band's logo.

And I have a drummer who keeps me grounded

And a screaming ukulele bean who sings the words I cannot say.

I have an app called Spotify

That makes noises that keep me alive when I think I cannot go on.

And then there are the people who have randomly encouraged me

The girl in art with bubble-gum hair

And the one who does taekwondo

And the sweetest girl in orchestra

And the soccer player who's always on crutches

The boy who plays trumpet in my 4th period

And my second grade ex-crush who is still just as awkward after all these years

And the old man who worked at the crosswalk.

And I have all these people, all these little things

That surprise me

Because just when I think I cannot go on

I see Emma, Hannah, Jonathan,

And Ruth Ann, Abby, Julia, Kate, Ellie

Katie.

Morgan, Bekah, Addi, Brayden, Cade

Jack, Laurel, Georgia, Callie,

Mom, Dad, Abbey, Emma,

Random boy, Josh, Tyler, Bubble-gum hair

Natalie, Andrea, Steven, Eric, Barrett,

And Larry.

And there are so many other people who I love and who

Encourage me even though they probably have no idea.

And part of me hopes I'm that encouragement to someone

Whether or not I know it, I want to be someone

Who is a light to others the way these people have been one to me.

So here are my acknowledgements

The condensed version

To fit in one chapter of the story of my life

In all it's 15-year glory.

Thank you.

-s.g.