I am thankful for your life– the way it leads when it is necessary and follows when it is time, and lifts up when the beacon needs to be brightest.

I am thankful for your hands — the strength in which they create, the softness in which they let go.

I am grateful for your gifts to the world– your smiles and stories– and how you are dedicated to giving these pieces of yourself. Even when they must be shared with character-length limitations or through selfie-angles, or on public stages, or in seemingly permanent ink. Even when it terrifies you, even when it costs you greatly.

I am thankful for the work you do, and how your labors are birthing a better world.

I am thankful for your friendship and how it has reached beyond screens and maps and cages, so many times that my heart sees right past horizons and always holds hope for the next chapter.

I am thankful for you, my friends.