You hide your wings so well.

Thank you, 65 year-old Mr. Philharmonic Attendee, for your contagious energy and unshakable optimism.

Thank you for, during hour 11 of my 12 hour work day, reminding me how lucky I am to be 22 and healthy and surrounded by art in my favorite city in the world.

Thank you for not yelling at me when you couldn't get back into the concert hall between the two pieces in the second act. Thank you for knowing that it wasn't my fault - just my job - without me having to say so.

Thank you for cajoling me out of my near-comatose state with your genuine conversation. Thank you for listening to me over the Mendelssohn you were paying to hear. Thank you for reminding me that money and circumstances aside, the most important thing in the world is to do what you want. Thank you for assuring me that somehow, miraculously, everything else will fall into place.

Thank you for doing all this out of the kindness and sincerity of your heart, your youthful spirit eager to connect with someone younger rather than resent them for having decades head of them that you willingly admit you could have spent better.

Thank you for wishing me good luck. Not just saying it, but actually wishing it.

I promise to do you proud.