a huge thank you for voting in the NYFW contest

I feel like the only thing I can start this post with is this: Thank you.
About a month and a half ago, I was sitting in my math class, confused as usual, and I snuck my phone out to check my emails (which were generally nothing of interest). After it refreshed, I saw in bold: "New York Fashion Week Collaboration." Um, what?
I opened it, and found out that my blog (my teeny tiny, little baby blog) had been selected among 29 others to be in the running to go to NYFW. I just about fell out of my chair right then and there.
The next few weeks were filled with waiting. And waiting. And more waiting. Could the contest just start already?!
Finally, I woke up on December 31 and the first thing I did was check my email. The only new email in my inbox was one stating that the contest had begun. I got on tumblr, facebook, and even re-made my twitter to try and promote this contest. The first few days I was in a pretty steady lead, which really got my hopes up.
Little did I know, the other contestants just hadn't started campaigning yet. A few more days went by, and I was trailing farther and farther behind. I sat at my computer all day, every day hitting "Refresh." "Refresh."
"Refresh."
Getting bored and anxious, I started to check out the other blogs I was competing with. What I found was that my blog was the smallest in the competition, and I was even sitting next to some bloggers I have been following for years. How stinkin' cool is that?! Sure, I may have been at a slight disadvantage because these blogs were so huge and successful, but I had been chosen for this contest just the same as them. I think it was then that I stopped caring so much about whether I won or not, and just started appreciating each and every vote that rolled in. Every single vote was 3 minutes that someone took out of their day to non-verbally say, "Hey, I'm supporting you and your dreams."
Words cannot describe how much that means to me. Some voters were friends. Some family. Some followers of my blog. Some complete strangers. All equally as important.
I have never felt so much support in my life. Each time someone shared the post on facebook, told me they had voted, wished me good luck...it was the most incredible feeling. I'm trying not to get too sappy, but the fact that my little blog got 6th place out of 30 bloggers (all bigger than me) is SO incredible. And I have all of you to thank for it.
I have had been reached out to by so many different people throughout the two weeks this competition has gone on, and I have received an overwhelming amount of incredible opportunities.
This may have not been my time, but there are bigger and better things coming for me in the future, and I won't give up on my dream to ultimately end up in NYC as a fashion journalist.

I mean this with the utmost sincerity: thank you to each and every person who voted.
xo Susie