My mom always told me to write thank you letters for any and every type of gift. Whether it was for a Christmas present or a service to me, I would write one.

Throughout four years of high school—two of which were spent under lockdown—I missed seeing my friends. Instead of texting each other, I sent them letters. I didn’t see my family at the celebrations, so I wrote thank you letters for sending their love. I enjoyed writing thank you letters and cards because they always brought smiles to the faces of the recipients.

Whenever I meet someone, I need to know when’s their birthday to make them a card. Hearing people exclaim, ”This is for me?” made me realize how important it is to thank people and show them how much you appreciate them. My way of showing my appreciation to them was through letters and thank you cards.

From writing happy birthday cards to college acceptance cards to overall thank you cards for the simplest of things, they brought smiles and made the person feel better. My goal in life is to help people, and if I can do that by writing a simple thank you card, I will continue doing that.

For my senior column, I want to write about so many things and I want to thank so many people for positively impacting me through their actions. So think of this as a mini thank you letter.

Thank you to my friends for always making me smile and having my back no matter what.

Thank you to specific teachers for being there for me and encouraging me.

Thank you to my wonderful EICs for helping me this year with the Tower and being wonderful partners.

Thank you to my favorite sophomores (you know who you are) for always being rays of sunshine. I will miss our gossip sessions.

Thank you to my family for helping me in every way they can. Thank you for trying to help me manage my stress levels and always encouraging me to do my best.

Thank you to Deb, the best tutor someone could ask for—I couldn’t have passed organic chemistry without you.

And last but most importantly, thank you Tower. I have been in this class for three years, and as much as it stresses me out on another level, I will miss the fun environment and all my fellow staffers. Thank you for trying your best (I hope you tried!) to run the paper this year. I hope all of you succeed. I will miss you all.

Since this column is ending, I want everyone reading this to say thank you to someone. It doesn’t matter who or what for. Just say thank you. Next!