i was afraid of snakes but she taught me to love them

She is wonderful in the way that Medusa is wonderful. She instills fear within those who ever try to wrong her, and when you catch her eye, her gaze is so cold that she could freeze you with even the smallest of glances. 

At first, you watch her from afar, in awe, wondering how someone could exude that much power. Eventually, you approach her and, once she knew that you meant no harm, she let you in. You learn that she went through hell and had to crawl her way out of it, but she raises her head high, rolls her shoulders back, and she walks as if she owns everything around her, because her parents taught her that she deserves to feel like a goddess, even if everyone else treats her like a monster.

She has the confidence to convince you that she does own everything, too, but you eventually learn that she lives in a studio apartment not far from campus, making ends meet while also being a full-time student.

(You offered her your help after you gather enough courage - you were better off than her, and she knew it - but all she did was thank you and kindly refuse. She does visit your nicer, but less organized apartment every once in a while. Maybe you'll eventually gather more courage and ask her to live with you.)

If you were younger and saw her walking around campus, or even around the city, you would aspire to be like her. She has power over many, but never abuses it. You hear many of your peers gossiping about her, saying that she's full of herself, but only because she has the confidence that some easily mistake of arrogance. 

But oh, is she kind. She is kind, and she is soft when the warm light from the setting sun hits her just right, and she is soft when she stares up at the stars from her studio apartment's balcony, and she's certainly soft she she looks at you. You're the only one she looks at like that, and it always makes you feel like you're loved. Because you are. And she is, too.

At first, you would freeze when she looked at you, but now you only do that when you take her in for everything she is. Her beauty makes you speechless, her smile steals all the air from your lungs, and when her hand brushes against yours, you feel lighter than a feather.

If you could go back in time and thank yourself for talking to her and getting to know her, you would. But for now, thanking her for being in your life is enough.