Hey girl, you've had quite the year. Ryan Gosling successfully cast aside The Notebook and his indie-flick past this year and proved himself as a deeply gifted actor and genetically blessed individual. His presence in Crazy, Stupid Love, Drive and Ides of March elevated the otherwise enjoyable films to unexpected levels of cinematic entertainment. For that, we're thankful that 2011 will go down as the year of Ryan Gosling. Everywhere we looked, Gosling's soulful, puppy-dog eyes stared back longingly, even from a fake TIME cover. Obvious talent aside, we're thankful for Gosling's quirkiness, his heroics, his general awesomeness and the memes he inspired. Heck, we're even thankful he wasn't named Sexiest Man Alive so that everyone could be indignant in their love for him and he could become a martyr for sexiness. Thank you, Ryan Gosling. Just, thank you.