"A Breath of Kindness..."

"Oh the comfort, the inexpressible comfort of feeling safe with a person, having neither to weigh thoughts or measure words, but pouring them all out, just as they are, chaff and grain together, certain that a faithful hand will take and sift them, keep what is worth keeping, and with a breath of kindness blow the rest away."
- Dinah Maria Mulock Craik.

This is where I show my appreciation for the people who have not only encouraged me, but scolded me for wrong actions, too; who have not only told me what I wanted to hear, but what I had to hear as well and the people who have loved me anyway throughout all of it. This is their time to be thanked.

Of course, I couldn't not thank my mom. She's always been my number one fan... and my number one critic. She'll never hesitate to tell me that something I wrote needs a LOT more work and that me sulking over it like a baby isn't going to make the writing any better. It's this kick in the butt that I often need to get going again when I feel like just dropping to the ground and not moving. Thanks Mom!

If I were to neglect to mention Chris here, I'd deserve a knock upside the head. He's never given up on me, not even for a second. Even when I was a pain to deal with, he dealt with me with no complaint and at the end of every day, no matter how difficult I'd been, he's still loved me. I won't become a girly sap here, because that's not really me and all our friends are going to read this, but Chris, there are so many things I could say to you right now. You already know them all, so I'll just suffice by saying thank you and I love you.

I simply have to put these two goons together; Marilyn and Joanna. My two best friends in the entire world. I've known both of them since I was in fifth grade, but I never really became close enough with them to make their duo a trio until about grade eleven. Over the years, we've gotten into quite a few disagreements, and a couple of fights. Heck, Marilyn even threw me once, but that is a story for another time. Marilyn's the one whose creative juices I feed off of and I owe much of my writing to her imagination. She is solely responsible for creating the location and a large portion of the characters in my Mystic Forest series. Joanna's the one who I can text and ask what she's up to when I'm so frustrated with my lack of progress with my writing and she'll be at my house, ready to blare Taylor Swift in her car and sing along with me while we drive aimlessly and I forget all my frustration. Thanks guys. You're the best!

They say that everyone always has one teacher in their lifetime that they will never forget. Well, that's true for me. Her name is Mrs. Horan, although back then I called her Ms. G (Miss Galezowski was too long to say). To this day, I still honestly and truly believe that she is some sort of angel in disguise. She was my grade seven and eight teacher and let's just say she was responsible for starting me on this path. If it weren't for her, I would not be the person I am today and I'm certain my life would have been much worse off had she not come into my life and saved me. Thank you Mrs. Horan. Thank you, thank you, thank you from the bottom of my heart. Whenever I hear the saying "Some people come into our lives and quickly go; others stay for a while and leave footprints on our hearts, and we are never, ever the same," I always think of you. I will never forget you.

Of course, I musn't forget Mr. Johnson, Mrs. Knox and Mr. Murray for doing an excellent job of molding me into the writer I am now. I draw on things I learned from them all the time when I write and even in everyday life, and I'm sure I'll continue to do so throughout the rest of my life. Thank you to all three of you for teaching me everything I know about writing, literature and the English language.

Thank you Aunt Ami for inspiring me with your own success as a published author of a wonderful novel, and to Uncle Ian, Not-So-Little-Anymore Ian and Jonah for your kind words and support as well.

Thank you to Mr. Perron for showing me how to think like a philosopher.

Thank you to my cats; Buster, Casper and Mooch. Sometimes, a friendly purr and a fluffy friend to cuddle is all you need to make you smile.

Finally, thank you to the Lord and Lady for bringing all of these people (and animals) into my life.

To all those I didn't mention, you know who you are and so do I. Thank you to all of you, too.