Blessed

Dear Friend,

There have been numerous days where the two of us wonder what we have done to deserve the people in our lives. From family members who sit down at dinner with us each night to the friends who send us thoughtful emails, we cannot get over the fact that our lives are full of such beautiful individuals. We must be doing something right for God to be so good to us, eh? This whole concept is something that we know we'll ponder for the rest of our lives, but there's one little question that has interested us the most.

Are people part of our lives for a reason? 

Brace yourself for this rather long post, but the answer to that question is pretty simple: yes. We believe that people enter and leave our lives with a purpose. Whether that purpose is small or big, people have the ability to change our lives. We can think of many examples.  There's the little boy who holds the door open for you at the grocery store- he teaches you kindness. There's the teacher who spends all of lunch walking you through problems you got wrong on your test- she teaches you patience and resilience. There's the friend who responds to your email late at night just to make sure your bad day doesn't get worse- she teaches you compassion and grace. As long as you keep an open mind, every person you meet has impacted your life in some way. In our lives, it just so happens that a lot of the people we meet impact our lives in a very positive manner. If you are reading this post, you are probably one of many people who have touched our lives. We are forever grateful and we dedicate this post to you.

People We Don't Know...Yet 
You may think it's silly that we want to thank those we don't even know yet. However, the two of us are firm believers in the colloquial phrase "everything happens for a reason," or as we like to abbreviate as "EHFAR." To make things easier, thing of the domino effect. We know that we are going to become part of so many other people's lives in the future (we are only seniors in High School...) and that they will most likely change our lives for the better. It's just up to us to embrace what they teach us and pay it forward.

Teachers 
We can't speak for other kids our age, but for the last eight years at our school, we have been surrounded by the best teachers a kid could ever ask for. Every single one of our teachers has made our learning environments so enjoyable. They are so passionate about what they do- they don't just view their jobs as a way to pay the bills. The two of us know that when we get to school each morning, we'll be taken care of. They have shaped us  intellectually and guided us emotionally, and we couldn't imagine our learning experience without them. To be honest, they are more our friends than adults who are just there to make sure we gain knowledge.

Friends 
We have such inspirational and beautiful friends- especially those part of our grade. These girlies have truly brought out the best in us. From surviving the awkward phases (also known as "The Dark Ages") to becoming the mature young adults (well for the most part) we are today, our friends have been so supportive and generous. These kiddos can make us laugh no matter what and have shown us what it means to be a loyal friend. However, our friends aren't limited to kids our age- our friends differ in all ages. To those who are older than us, we look up to you greatly. Thank you for being such great role models. Seeing all our friends smile is one of the main reasons we love spreading joy to others.

Family 
These folks have been with us since day one. Not only have they shaped our moral values and taught us some of life's most important lessons, they have always believed in us. This is all probably sounding quite cheesy to you, but without our families, we'd be absolutely nowhere. They know what we like and dislike, our talents and our imperfections- and yet they still think we are flawless. We know we can count on our family to love us to the moon and back- to love us unconditionally.

Every single one of these individuals have touched the both of us in a special way. But let's take this from another perspective- what if some of these people are part of our lives so that we can make a difference in their own? This is yet another idea that the two of us are slowly coming to terms with. Maybe- just maybe- the two of us have the potential to play a huge role in someone else's life. Who knows? But whether people are part of our lives to change us for the better or we, ourselves, are part of other's lives to save them, the two of us truly believe we are so, so blessed.


"People come into your life for a reason, a season, or a lifetime. When you figure out which it is, you will know what to do." - Michele Ventor

Yours truly,
Kylie and Catherine