Dear Natalie,

Throughout my entire life, I have set big goals for us. This year being no different, I set the goal of getting
a 4.0, getting into one of my top three colleges and bettering our mental health. While not all these
goals were reached to their highest potential, I am proud of where I am and how much I have
accomplished and changed as a person over the past year. This year I have learned how strong I truly am
as I have faced numerous life altering difficulties. I believe that overall, I have changed for the better and
that I am continuously working towards bettering myself.

Today I am terrified of the future, graduation a month away and I know that once I reach this milestone I
will be moving across the state on my own. Although I am scared, I am also excited to learn more about
myself as I am on my own and to finally have a sense of independence. I am also afraid of the present as
I struggle with Dad’s illness and efforts to not be alone in this small town. Right now, I believe that there
are many things I need to work on about myself, but overall, I like who I am, and I don’t intend on letting
anyone else change that. I am hopeful that once I reach Santa Barbara, I will have the courage to find
myself and try things that I have never done before. While this time in my life has been immensely hard,
I think that I have handled it fairly well, and for that I am proud.

In my current physical world, I am not as proud. I believe that I have fallen behind in many things as I
have not kept up with my schoolwork as I typically do, and I have not found the motivation to do things
such as clean my room. I do not spend much time at home anymore as all I have to do there is chores
and talk to my mom about work and how my dad is doing. I instead spend most of my time at my best
friend’s house which has become like a second home. In recent weeks I have been deciding what items
in my room I would like to bring to college, I think that I am going to miss my room and the things that it
holds. My room is a very special place to me as it is where I spent the majority of my time in my teenage
years, and I know that I will always enjoy coming back to it as it is my safe haven.

Right now, I enjoy watching Netflix with Abbi, we are currently watching disjointed. I think that hanging
out with them is my favorite thing as of today. I enjoy reading heartstopper comics with them and
learning how to ride a skateboard with them as my teacher. My favorite color right now is green, I plan
to make my future dorm room sage green and baby pink. I love everything green from décor, to plants,
to clothes. Lately I really enjoy baggy clothes, especially jeans, and dad shirts from goodwill. I hope to
continue thrifting and styling my clothes however I see fit. I believe that these things all bring me great
happiness, as well as my pets and Abbi’s foster kittens; they aways give me a boost of serotonin.

While the future terrifies me, I am very excited to move towards my adult life as I enter college at UCSB
and move away from my hometown. I believe that Santa Barbara holds great things for me. I do not
know if my dreams of working in female reproductive health will ever come true, but as of now that is
my plan and if that isn’t what happens that is okay as long as I love what I am doing. I am a bit scared for
this summer as I am going out of the country and will have plenty of time to myself; but I am excited to
make lifelong memories throughout my senior summer. I feel that I do not need to plan too far into the
future right now as I have no clue what my life will be like in just a few months, but I know that I hope it
is happy, well rounded, and what I view successful.

As I move into adulthood there are a few things I would like to accomplish or experience before I am
fifty. I would like to have children if I am in a place where I feel I am able to do so. I would also like to
visit New York as well as the Bahamas because I love to travel. Outside of travel I would like to go
ziplining again and get married to the right person. I would want to be financially stable enough where I
can continue to donate to charities that I see fit and that I am able to get a potbelly pig on my own land.
One other thing that I would like to do during this part of my life is take my sister Cassidy on a trip of her
choice because she has done so much for me throughout my entire life, and she is one of my best
friends. Traveling to Germany has always been one of my biggest dreams, which will finally come true in
a few weeks, so in a way I already have one thing checked off my list! Finally, I want to be able to
comfortably provide for myself and my family as I always had to worry about money growing up. There
are many other things that I would like to accomplish during this part of my life, but as of now these are
some of the things that I would like to see for myself.

While this year has been very hard, I have accomplished great things. I am excited for this next chapter
of my life and I can’t wait to see what it has in store for me. I am so proud of where I am even if it has
been a struggle to get here. Now is my time to discover myself and better the world around me, from
my physical world to my personal life by choosing who I surround myself with. I know that it is going to
be scary, but we have gotten this far and there is no going back now; we’ve got this!

- Best of Luck, Natalie

P.S. Don’t forget about Mr. Froggy when we move to Santa Barbara!