To

In the spirit of our two-month, I have compiled a list of 'tos' that I would like to commemorate with fondness:

• To May 12th, 2024 at 2PM at CoHo. The date, time and location of our first date. There was a high of 74 degrees. We sat beneath the shade of a leafless tree, at an outside table in the very corner. Though we were separated from the rest, our existence became very apparent every time you made me laugh loudly into the air. I will carry the joy you made me feel this day forever.
• To Ray's Grill. A two minute walk away from EVGR-A. A decent place with decent food, which turned magical upon the realization that the laughter you induced within me was something I would always get to feel whenever I am with you, wherever I am with you.
• To the salute—which I have begun to do unironically. Funny as it was in the moment, I now think of it more as a reflection of your impact on my life, down to the gestures.
• To cartwheels. Something I still crave to perfect. Doubly knowing that I will be forever performing them for you.
• To beer and borgs. Twin symbols of our matching degeneracy.
• To Hipnotized. Imagine my surprise to discover that I could fall for you even harder than I already had at that point. Incredibly cool, by every definition of the word.
• To Alyssa. Thanks Alyssa.
• To Frieren. Though truthfully I personally don't have much fondness for the show itself (though I still look forward to watching it with you), it physically brought us together in a way I could only dream about.
• To Suntory -196 Seltzer. There are very few experiences in my life that brought me the level of peace I felt in my mind when drinking these seltzers, curled up on the floor of your room, listening to you finish your assignments, realizing that my life was only getting better and better when shared with you.
• To Ally. A reminder that I have finally found someone in this world who can hate as much (and even more!) than I can.
• To Julia. See the above.
• To that thirst trap edit of you. For obvious reasons.
• To the PRL. I have no pretty words to say about it but I feel it was a center point to many of our conversations.
• To Treehouse Margaritas. I am unsure if it saddens me or soothes me that I never got to try these. With the amount of times you've had it, I think you have drunk my fill. The image of your cute, red face fill me with giddy.
• To OSU and League of Legends. More twin symbols of our matching degeneracy.
• To Taco Bell, and all of the future Taco Bell runs we will take together in the future.
• To those random hotdogs we ate and overdosed on for a night after eating Taco Bell.
• To Pop Mart, and all of the Hirono blind boxes we will be collecting for the rest of our lives. I don't believe I will rest comfortably until we unbox one of the special figures.
• To Italian Food! Ti cucinerò tutto il cibo italiano del mondo, amore mio.
• To Jay Park, but only for really bad reasons.
• To the LEGO orchids we purchased and built on a whim, which I still cherish and care for as if they were actual flowers.
• To the flowers that you sent me. Even now as I write this I cannot put into words how much such a gift means to me. Truly. I don't need to write it down here to know that I will be remembering it for the rest of my life. I consider them an extension of you, and so I will care for them with everything that I have.
• To the way that you treat me. With kindness and sweetness; with silliness, love and care.
• To the way you are able to see things about me that I am unable to see about myself. How you are able to know and perceive me in such a way that makes me feel seen, heard and loved in ways I never knew possible.
• To the way you smile. Whether it be with your lips closed so your cheeks rise gently into your eyes, or with your lips open so your dimple bubbles to the surface. It all melts into me and makes my heart beat faster.
• To the rhythm with which you speak. The words that you love to fall back onto. The shape and body that defines what I call your 'Kaitlin-accent'. I could listen to it and let it bring me peace as if it were the stillness in the air before I go to sleep.
• To the way your hand feels in mine. The way your pretty fingers feel interwoven between mine, as if my own hands were born and sculpted to fit into yours.
• To the days we spent lounging lazily in your bed. Unburdened by feelings of responsibility or task; days that passed much too quickly, with you in my arms as we stared blankly at the ceiling, drifting in and out of tranquil sleep. Days that I will simultaneously cherish forever, and look forward to having many more of.
• To FaceTime. Seeing you and hearing you and speaking to you, sending my love outwards across the ocean, beyond space and time, through that tiny little box we both hold in our hands which makes the distance feel a little less far.
• To all of the days we will spend together, not holding phones but rather holding each other, for the rest of our lives.
• To all of the things I may have forgotten, and all of the things we have yet to experience together.
• Lastly: To you, my love. For being you, and allowing me to be a part of your life. It is you: everything about you. Things that I cannot put into these words here but I can only feel when I look at you, speak to you, feel you in my arms. Your being, your existence, every detail down to the way you look at me so lovingly which fills my heart with ease. I love you, this is true. But I also admire you: everything you do, and everything you are. Which is why I commemorate this time we have spent together, and all the time we will spend together, to you, Kaitlin.