What wonderful, amazing people God has placed in my life.
Sometimes I don’t even understand the depth of human love. I guess that’s because it’s something God created, something modeled after God’s own love for us, and it’s so so beautiful. I’ve been overwhelmed lately by the amount of wonderful people God has given me the opportunity to know.
In high school I didn’t have many girl friends, and in fact was kinda annoyed by the huge groups of girls that would constantly be giggling and fangirling around (I mean come on, it’s still pretty annoying). But in the last couple years I’ve really learned how important it is to have those relationships in your life, and how beautiful it is to minister and be ministered to by another girl. It’s such a reward and a joy to pour your heart and life into someone else, and I have definitely gotten the opportunity to do that with some amazing, beautiful, Christ-reflecting girls.
So I guess if we’re gonna get super personal, here’s my open letter to you all.
A few disclaimers:
This may or may not sound like I’m dying and these are my last words, but I promise I’m not and they’re not.
Excuse the cheesiness & the sentimentality.
Excuse the length. I have absolutely no idea why there isn’t a word limit on these posts; it would probably be good for me.
To one of my dearest friends at GC, Natalie: thank you for sharing your heart with me. Thanks for being the one who was the most there for me my freshman year. Thanks for always having your door open and always listening, even when I ramble and repeat myself and even when I’m crazy (so 100% of the time). I’m so blessed by our theological and psychological discussions, and by our cooking expeditions. Thank you for sharing your feelings and thoughts with me and trusting me like not very many people do. Thanks for being my homework buddy so many times. Thanks for the coffee dates. Thanks for always being willing to drive me anywhere, and thanks for inspiring me to try (and fail) at visual art. Thanks for a beautiful wonderful interterm break in Louisville. I adore the little old lady inside of you that begs you to go to bed at ten, and I will dearly miss your huge, generous, loving, caring, kind, and beautiful heart. Thanks for being there for me and having my back 24/7, and helping make freshman year absolutely rock.
To another dear dear friend and future roommate, Cammi: thanks for the party. I will be ridiculously cheesy and quote the song “My Life Would Suck Without You” (by Kelly Clarkson, queen of cheese) and say: MY LIFE WOULD SUCK WITHOUT YOU, FRIEND. Can I just say, thanks for the constant parties on car rides jamming to the Friends theme song and Owl City and Carly Rae Jepsen (and Highland, if we’re being honest), and belting Wicked at the top of our lungs. Thanks for the times you’ve literally pulled me off of my dorm room floor and dragged me to Walmart to cheer me up. Thanks for the times we’ve devoured unhealthy amounts of chocolate together or just in general ridiculous amounts of junk food (remember the cake from Walmart?). Thanks for bringing me McDonald’s those last couple weeks of school when I sat up all night in the Whitlock lounge working. Thanks for the Friends marathons and the chick flick movie nights. Thanks for constantly leaving your door and your schedule open to spend time with me when I really needed it. Thanks for giving me fashion advice when I tore apart my closet before a band show and thanks for always doing crazy stuff with me (i.e. nose-piercing, hair-dying, etc.). Thanks for “breaking the rules” with me and rooming with me in Ireland; that trip wouldn’t have been nearly as awesome without my European travel buddy. Thanks for finishing my sentences and saying things at the same time as me and always understanding exactly what I mean (kinda scary sometimes tbh). Thanks for listening when I run into your room upset about something stupid and pretending like it matters when I need you to, and thanks for always giving down-to-earth, godly, and wise advice. Thanks for being my roommate next year in advance, I already know it’s gonna rock.
To the girl who has single-handedly made this summer survivable, Kathleen: thanks for being the best white girl pal I could ever ask for. I’m so thankful that after a year apart it’s like nothing has changed. Thanks for understanding my starbucks and chocolate cravings and being right there with me. Thanks for helping me go to the gym every other night (most of the time ;) ) and teaching me how to do weights (HA). Thanks for understanding that sometimes even after you burn 500 calories on a workout you still need to go eat 600 calories worth of ice cream (and thanks for joining me on those endeavors). Thanks for being the coolest manager of all time and making work ROCK (most of the time). Thanks for always understanding exactly what I mean when I say something and for voicing EXACTLY what I’m thinking, especially when it comes to CFA gossip (that just sounds so lame, am I right?). Thanks for always being up to talk or go to lunch or get coffee, and thanks for sharing your life with me. Thanks for the opportunity to sing at your wedding! Thanks for always having a smile on your face and giving me like at least 25 hugs per work shift (greatly necessary, as you know). Thanks for giving me a fake engagement ring as proof of your love for me, and thanks for constantly making me laugh. You’ve made this summer way more fantastic than I ever imagined it could be.
To the girl who made senior year/summer 2014 the best time ever, Chels: thanks for your wisdom, insight, and companionship. Thanks for being the Anita to my Maria. Thanks for the free periods spent at Barnes & Noble and Starbucks, thanks for dreaming about New York with me, thanks for working your butt off for West Side Story with me. Thanks for understanding me and having deep philosophical and theological conversations with me (seriously, when is that book coming out?). Thanks for making music with me; Janell’s wedding is for sure something I’ll remember for a very long time. Thanks for being a wonderful, godly, kind example to me always, but still knowing that it’s okay to break down sometimes and it’s so okay to not be perfect. Thanks for knowing when to empathize and when to tell me to pray and get over it. Thanks for always redirecting my heart to God in every issue, and for helping me grow so so much in Christ and in maturity last summer. Thanks for suffering through my basic white girl selfies with me, and thanks for just all around being such a steady, supportive, wonderful friend. Thanks for opening up to me and sharing your heart and your issues, and for being willing to discuss them at length. Thanks for never judging and always understanding, and thanks for showing me how important it is to have such solid girlfriends in my life.
To my best friends for my four years of high school, Haley and Heather: thanks for the craziness. Thanks for letting me be your triplet, and thanks for the countless memories. I couldn’t have made it through high school sane without you (I guess I didn’t make it through all the way sane, but hey). Thanks for the cooking escapades and the cake fails and the laughing til we cried. Thanks for the walks to Pacem and McDonald’s and the summer pool days. Thanks for geeking out about Harry Potter with me constantly, and Lost, and Downton Abbey, and even sometimes Twilight (okay yeah I admitted it...shhhh). Thanks for the cutest halloween costume experiences and the sweetest Christmas presents and the times in Harry Potter World and the countless times we spent sitting on your beds talking. Thanks for the times in theater together, and the movie-making...good Lord, the movie-making. Thanks for the sentimentality and the music. Thanks for the sleepovers and the always being up for any adventure. Thanks for being able to laugh about nothing when necessary and being able to cry at each other’s problems when also necessary. Thanks for the science video. Thanks for the saddest goodbye I’ve ever had in my life and what that meant to me. Thanks for simply being there and living life with me for those four years. I know that even though we don’t talk a ton anymore and we all live our busy lives, we will always remain great friends.
Thank you all for loving me and for letting me love you.
So this is probably the most narrow blog post I’ve ever written in terms of relatability, but let me just say this. Life is short, and God has given you amazing people to live it with. Go find them and tell them that they’re awesome and why they’re awesome. It’s a beautiful picture to live in the arms of Jesus, but we were meant for human companionship as well; so thank Jesus for the people He’s blessed you with and don’t ever forget to appreciate them.
Peace out.
