I want to say something,

To those people who have always been there,

Every step of the way.

You know I've been through a lot,

I mean, don't you remember how I used to be?

That shy little thing,

Sitting so quiet,

Without a word to say,

Unwilling to defend myself or step up to a challenge.

And now I've grown to be tougher than I was.

Those people who have been there,

They know exactly what I'm talking about,

They know just how different I am.

They know everthing I've been through,

And why I am the way I am.

I'm happy to say that I've finally realized too,

That there are some good people in this world.

It's just hard to know that,

When everything else is going up in flames.

You don't know what to do,

You don't know who to trust.

All you hope is that one day you'll wake up,

And all the flames are gone.

But it's not that easy.

You can't just take a bucket of water,

And flush out everything going on.

I thought I could.

It took me forever to figure it out that I couldn't.

And it makes me happy knowing,

That even when I didn't want to try,

My friends were still there,

Pushing me,

Listening to me complain endlessly.

Comforting me when I cried.

They were there every step of the way.

They mean everything to me.

*Melissa E. G. Juliana* 03/03/03