I've been meeting so many of you in person and enjoying every minute of it!

I've been meeting so many of you in person on tour and enjoying every minute of it! Though touring itself can be exhausting, emotionally as well as physically, when those of you who are able to make it to my evening seminars take the time out of your lives to attend, I'm so honored and touched, that it reinvigorates my whole heart.

Last night, I was concerned I'd be staring at a bunch of empty seats for my parent/family seminar because I was speaking at a school district outside my hometown of Chicago, and the Bears/Packer game was on Monday night football. I was stupefied when the auditorium began filling up. It made me feel good to see so many parents and kids, genuinely engaged in the evening, knowing that for some of them, it was probably a sacrifice to miss out on such an important football game.

I know that those of you who make the effort to come out and hear me speak are getting something of value, but I promise you it pales in comparison to what each and every one of you is giving me--confirmation that all the travel and hard work as I make my way across the country on behalf of our nation's wounded youth, is worth the toll it can take on me. You reaffirm my life's purpose with your presence. Your emails, letters, and blog posts are like oxygen when it's hard for me to catch my breath.

I'm always so humbled by the intensity of the gratitude I experience on the road, so many of you thanking me for sharing my story and fighting this fight against adolescent cruelty. In my mind, it is I who should be thanking you for letting me know with every tear we've shed together, every hug I've gotten from you, and every deeply personal conversation we've exchanged, how much all of you mean to me.

Please, keep on coming out to the evening seminars. Check my tour schedule and let me have the continued privilege of knowing you on an individual level. You are my heart, each and every one of you--the parents worried for your children, the students seeking support and advice, the educators reaching out for help, and other adult survivors like me looking for validation--I am blessed to know all of you. Blessed.

Thank you for supporting me in this crusade, and for being honest, courageous, and committed in your own meaningful, important efforts to protect and persevere on behalf of the young people who are in your lives. I celebrate and honor you.

And please, keep those hugs coming! They are my favorite!