Appreciation is a wonderful thing. It makes what is excellent in others belong to us as well.
—Voltaire
SOMETIMES IT TAKES the courage, intelligence, talent and compassion of others to help us find our own. Sometimes we need to see examples of these qualities in others in order to have any sense of what or how to develop them within ourselves. Sometimes we need others to help us identify and define the shape of our dreams. In The Wildest Ride, I noted many of the people who loved me into being—the people without whom this book, myself and everything that led up to both would not be possible.
Continuing that tradition, I’d like to give thanks to the people who led by example, drew me out of my shell and encouraged me as I took some of the earliest steps to getting here. Shannon. Sham. You have talent, beauty and brains, and are confident and bold whenever it matters. You made it so much safer to put myself out there and to try—whether that be for auditions, competitions, clubs or just being more social. You’re also the reason that I’ve got a soccer family, and that was honestly probably the longest shot of all. Nicole. Nico. You know this, but in my mental dictionary, your face rests as the definition of integrity. Like our girl, Shannon, you have more than your fair share of intelligence, beauty and humor. You have always been someone I aspire to be like, and someone I feel so grateful to have a relationship with. That we have technically known each other since fifth grade makes you my oldest school chum. Thank you for being my prom date (and your mom for her huge role in getting me there). Perhaps more than anyone outside my editors, you know what it is like to write with me and do the hard work of getting from a first draft to publication. I wish I could say it’s better, but, honestly, nothing has changed ~_~. That is perhaps not much of a surprise. What was a surprise, though it really shouldn’t have been, was that the two of you were two of the first people to reach out with congratulations and support following the release of my work. Our paths don’t cross in the ways they used to, but I should not have been surprised. Of course you would be a part of it now. You’ve always been a part of it. Nicole and Shannon, together with George and Bryan and Alan and the rest of the crew, you ensured that high school, a time period that can be so fraught, was not just fun, but full of happy memories. Thank you for being my friends, for doing outrageous amounts of extracurriculars with me, for dragging me to hang out and for understanding when I wanted to stay home and read.
In addition to the people who have loved me into being, The Rodeo Queen would not be possible without the steadfastness of Nic Caws, whose editorial brilliance continually pushes me to be the best that I can be.
It also wouldn’t be possible without George Floyd, the Black Lives Matter movement and all of the dedicated and daring protestors who refused to let the world look away in denial. Thank you for your conviction and bravery. In the face of disease and violence, you fostered greater awareness in the world. I owe the kind of debt to you that you don’t pay back, you pay forward.
And to my family—especially Josh and Em and Xen and Dan and Patty—it was only with your understanding, support and patience that we made and survived the biggest move of our lives while I was simultaneously working on two books.