Dear Family,

When I was in elementary school, each student would draw a picture of them and their family during Health and Wellness class. I always drew me, my mom, my dad, and my dog; but you, my family, encompass more people than could ever fit on one page. Some of you are my biological relatives, some of you are my friends, and some of you are people I am still getting to know. Regardless of how long I have known you or how much we hang out, I feel that I can count on you.

You are there for things both little and big. You go to amusement parks with me, but you also walk with me to the grocery store. I can call you at any given moment to talk about whatever is on my mind, knowing that if you don’t pick up, you will promptly call me back. No matter how many times I may hide from you or pretend that I have a lot of homework to do, one of my favorite things to do is spend time with you. I can get overwhelmed easily when being around a lot of people, but I never stay in “hiding” for long. Even if I am tired, I still want to be with my family because I know it will be worth it to spend time with the people I love.

This past year numerous people have been added to my family. To all of you: I am so excited to get to know you more and I hope you know how glad I am that I have been given a chance to spend time with you. You are all amazing people and I love you so much.

I also want to acknowledge that during the pandemic, I missed out on a lot of experiences with those of you who live far away from me. To those of you who live far away: I would like to formally apologize for not being very diligent about answering my phone calls and text messages. I miss hanging out with you, and I promise to get better at checking my voicemail.

To all of my family, I appreciate you. I hope you know how much you mean to me. Whether we just recently met, or we have been close to each other for years, you have played an important role in making me the person I am today. I will be forever grateful for that.

Thank you for always being there,

Evan Griffith-Ebrahimi ’26