Friday, March 28, 2008

Sleepy Friday

I'm just lying in my bed with the lights off thinking about things. Mostly about my friends. I thought about writing in my journal about all my amazing friends but I don't have the will to get a cramped hand. So, I thought I would write a blog about them. Instead of friends, let's just call this

people I love...

Kristin
Kristin has been my best friend since I was four years old. She was my next door neighbor back in Richland and we hit it off from the start. We've had a few drifts through the years but we have remained the best of friends. I love her honesty. She is so honest and loving all the time. She is genuine and fun. I love to be around her and spending time with her. We've had so many good times over the years. I have so many fun memories from growing up with her. There were countless times fighting over who got to play with which Barbie and playing house in her room. We even made fake laptops out of paper and would play work. "Look into my eyes, what do you see? Brown." I love Kristin.

Alyson
Alyson is amazing. We met in middle school at a class party at CBRC. The gym/club place. I came out of the changing room after putting on my swimsuit and overheard someone asking her why she wore a one-piece and I heard her reply that it was because of her religion. I said, "me too!" Once we knew this, we were really good friends. It was amazing to see that just a small similarity would make cause for such a great friendship. We spent middle school together as the best of friends and then were split to different high schools. Our friendship suffered the first year but we managed to hold on and we are such good friends now. It's hard being away from her at school but I figure we have so many years ahead to spend time together still. We've had tons of sleepovers and I couldn't count the number of times we've eaten at taco bell together. :)

Alex
Alex and I met during high school when she moved into my ward. We didn't actually become really good friends until later on though. My Junior year was especially hard and she was there for me when I needed someone most. She is such a good friend and she is amazing at making you feel so much better when you are down or sad. When I want a good laugh she is the one I call. I love sharing my secrets with her and just having fun. She really means a lot to me and I often look at her as my younger sister that I never had. Although she is younger I really admire all that she does and there are so many qualities she has that I want to strive for in my life. She has 7 younger siblings and she is the second mother in her home. She is an amazing homemaker and she has such a great love for children. I really admire that.

Desiree
Desiree and I met our freshman year of high school. She showed up in my ward from Canada as an awkward, overly shy young girl. She skipped a grade in Canada so she was only 14 as a freshman. She still thanks me to this day for, "taking her under my wing." I tried to reach out and help her as much as I could because I knew she didn't have friends here and we at least knew each other from church. I invited her to start eating with my friends and I at lunch and we really hit it off. Because of her I was able to start hanging out with other people and our group of friends changed that year. Our Junior year in high school was really one to remember. We had a computer econ. class together and boy did we have fun with that one. We both pulled off A's but I'm not really sure how. We would spend the hour talking about "stomach-ache" and just laughing about our dramatic high school lives. Our senior year we had a bit of a drift and haven't been as close since but I still consider her one of my very best friends and I'm so thankful for her example to me and all she did. We've been a little closer since we came to school and I hope that continues through the next few years.

My Mom
My mom is one of the most amazing women I have ever met. She joined the church when she was 16 years old and left her family in England to go to school in America. She was a stranger to the land and she found true love and settled down. She has raised four children and continues to impress me as she helps raise seven grandchildren. I have never been mad at my mom because no matter what I do, she doesn't get mad at me. I can't return love with hate. It just doesn't work. I have seen my mom go through so many trials in her life from physical trials to emotional and personal trials and no matter what happens she remains strong. I haven't seen her falter or draw back. She continues to impress me everyday. Being at school away from her has been hard. I miss being able to go to her and just vent about my day. I would cry with her and laugh with her and I cherish the days I had like that as a young girl. I'm so excited to be with her again this summer.

My Dad
My dad is incredible. Growing up I remember countless times he would pull me on his knee and whisper about how I was his favorite but not to tell my siblings. :P We have always had such a close relationship. I always had this strange fear of my dad growing up which I think was mostly because of his size but as I grew into my teenage years that fear faded and I grew to love him more and more. A few years ago we had a drift and I had to find a way to bring him back into my life. I learned so much about him through those times and I love him more now than I ever have. He has raised and supported a family and brought the gospel into our lives. He has always been an example to me and he has so many traits that I want my future husband to have.

Josh
:) Josh is adorable. Our friendship and relationship has been so interesting and it's funny to think about now. We met in November of last year and after some rocks and hills we've finally got things figured out. One of my favorite things about Josh is his ability to put a smile on my face no matter what is going on. It's as though all he has to do is look at me and I can't keep from smiling. We've gone on a number of dates and we seem to always have fun no matter what we do. One of Josh's traits that I really admire is the love he has for his friends and family. When Josh really cares for someone, everyone knows. He makes it so obvious. We tease him about it because he'll get Easter, Valentines, and Christmas presents for everyone but it is actually something I find so impressive. He loves doing little gestures for someone just to be of some help. He'll drop anything he's doing to help someone. I've seen him drop his whole day to help someone numerous times. He does little things for me almost daily and I love him for that.

Jamie
My sister Jamie is my best friend. She is ten years older than me so much of my memories with her are from more recent times because I was so young when she lived at home. I do remember some things though. I remember sitting on her bed watching her get ready for high school dances and wishing I was older and could date boys like she did. I thought she was so beautiful and I couldn't believe I was so lucky to have such a wonderful sister. Well, as the years have gone on I only agree with those thoughts more and more. My more recent memories of my sister include when she lived at our house while her husband spent six months in Iraq and how close we got over that span of time. I have seen her raise her children and can't imagine being a better mom than she is. She is a loving wife, a caring mother and the best sister I could ever have asked for. I love calling her because we can talk for hours without realizing it and still not want to hang up. I wish we weren't as far apart as we are but even with the distance and only being able to see her once every year or so I am still influenced by her example and I think about her often.

Josh F
Josh Fernandez and I have been friends since we were tiny. I honestly can't remember how old we were. Our dads worked together in TV and so our families were good friends growing up. Through elementary school we were such good friends. I have so many memories of walking to his house after school to jump on the trampoline and just hang out. We would play games or eat food. At the end of our 5th grade year he moved to Ukraine and I didn't see him again until 8th grade. But our friendship picked up just where it left off. We stayed really close all through high school and he just recently left on his mission. He has always been a great example to me and has especially been a great friend. I would get random calls every once in a while from him asking if I was doing alright. I would reply, "yes..." and he would say something along the lines of, "Okay. I was just making sure. I thought I should call you." I knew that he was always thinking about me and I knew he cared.

Kelly
Kelly and I were friends when were in elementary school and then she moved away our 4th grade year. We wrote a few letters but lost touch pretty quickly. But as exciting as this is, we met back up here at school. We live right next door to each other (which wasn't planned) and we have already had so many fun memories! She is such a good friend and I'm really thankful for her example to me. She has helped me come out of my shell this year and helped me figure out who I really am. Not to mention the help in the boy department. :) But I really care about Kelly and all she does. She is always making me laugh and no matter what we do we have fun!

Corbin
Corbin and I met the summer before my junior year of high school. I was at a party my friend Anthony was throwing and my friend Jon introduced us. He introduced Corbin as the Great Corbini because they had just gotten back from EFY and in the talent show they did a hypnotist act and Corbin was the hypnotist. We sat on the bench across from the pool and talked for a bit and after only 20 or 30 minutes I felt like I had known the kid for years. We went to different high schools but we managed to start a friendship that has lasted for years now. Corbin is one person that can always make me laugh. He has this sense of humor that you really can't understand unless you know him but he definitely kept me in stitches. A few months before he left on his mission we had a bit of drift (sounds familiar) but we've managed to fix things and remain good friends. Corbin has one of the strongest testimonies of the gospel that I know. He knows it's true and he loves to share it. He was someone that I knew I could talk to about anything because he would just listen. He is currently serving in New Zealand.

Keith
Keith and I have also known each other for years. Not only have we been in the same ward for years, we've gone to school together K-12. Keith was always too cool for me growing up. He hung with the more popular crowd than I did until later in life. Although we'd always been friends we really become good friends our Junior year of high school. The summer before that we spent on the river on our homemade raft or just hanging out. We could tell each other anything and everything. We still are that way. He has a special talent for listening and really understanding. No matter what we go through or what changes we make we always come out realizing that our friendship is more important. I'm so proud of everything he's done. He's really impressed me and continues to.

Joe
My brother Joe and I have always had a strange connection that has only grown over the years. We were very close when I was young and I would often tell him he was my favorite. Although I don't choose favorites now, I still have a great connection with Joe. He has such a great desire to do the Lord's will and be exactly what God wants him to be and I have always looked up to him in that aspect. Joe is one of those people that manages to be a total nerd but still very funny and not nerdy (if that makes any sense). He has always been there for me when I needed him and always the one to sit me down when I'm struggling and help me realize that it's just temporal and it won't last.

John
John and I were sibling rivals growing up even though when forced we would say we loved each other. But I think all that force did us some good, either that or just the aging but we are so close now and I love it! We have so much fun together talking, laughing and playing guitar hero. He has always supported me in whatever I want to do and is constantly reminding me of how much I am loved by the people around me. Every time I walk out the door he yells, "Remember who you are!" And as cliche as it is, I always do. While I'm leaving I have in my head who I am and it sets the mood for my night. He has grown so much over the years and seeing his changes and progress has more than inspired me. I learn from him to not judge and be accepting because I know that people can change. He is such a great brother to me and a great husband and father.

Jon
Jon and I met our freshman year of high school and my first memories of him consist of sitting in math being made fun of because I couldn't read the board...from the front row. Haha. Jon helped me realize that there were actually decent guys in the world. My middle school had very few LDS kids in my grade and the few guys there were, were really quite strange. When I met Jon and had seminary with him I was really impressed. He, I can honestly say, helped me learn a lot of myself and others. His example helped me become more accepting of others and I expanded my group of friends even more. He pulled me in and introduced me to a number of people. What I love about Jon is how much I could see he cared about me. We had a fight on Christmas Eve one year over something stupid I did but even through all of that, he came around. He was forgiving and we fixed things and I think we are closer because of it. Jon is also on his mission now serving in Peru. I'm so proud of everything he has accomplished thus far and I know that he will only continue to do great things.

I'm going to do some short ones now about some of my other great friends...

Mikelle and Mariko
Mikelle and Mariko are so funny. Coming to college was really hard but having such awesome roommates has really helped keep the stress levels down. We are like the tremendous trio...:\ haha. But we really do have so much fun. We just decided recently that we are all living together next year and I'm so excited! I love them so much and they make college all that much more enjoyable.

Spencer
Spencer is an awesome kid. My favorite part about Spencer is his overall kindness. I haven't met many kids that care as much as he does. He is one kid that I could just sit and talk to because it wouldn't get old. He's a great listener and gives great advice too!

Matt D
Matt D has amazing taste in music. I actually really look up to people that have a love for music. I know a lot of people do, but not like Matt. Also, Matt is just hilarious. He is so different from anyone I've known and that intrigues me.

Matt M
:) I'm not even sure what to say about Matt M. He is one of the smartest people I have ever met, that's for sure. He is so devoted to the gospel and being a righteous person that nothing penetrates him. He is completely unaffected by all the negative things going on around him. And that just makes him an awesome person. He is also very sincere and adoring.

Riley
Riley is adorable. He reminds me so much of a little kid at heart. He is so cute and funny and has such a clear focus of what's he is here to do. Riley is going to Stockholm, Sweden on his mission.

Cory
Cory makes me laugh. He is smart and nice and really cares about others. (Spencer, Matt, Matt, Riley and Cory are in my ward) Cory just got called yesterday to serve in Australia!

Ethan
Ethan is a really cool kid. I wasn't sure what I thought of him at first, but as I have got to know him more and more he continues to surprise me. He is fun to talk to and a really good kid. He got his call to Puerto Rico yesterday.

Perry
My favorite thing about Perry is his love for biking. It's not so much the biking part that I like but more that he loves it so much. He knows what he loves and he goes for it and he does an amazing job at it. And the other thing is that he still knows where his priorities lie. Even though he loves biking so much, he is willing to give that up for a mission and a family because he knows it's more important. Perry got his call to Spain yesterday.

Chance
Chance is adorable. He loves to make people laugh and will do pretty much anything to do it. I've loved having classes with him this semester because he is just really fun to be around. He gives amazing advice too. I love to vent to him because he listens. Chance is opening his call tonight!

Dallin
Dallin and I met our freshman year I think but didn't become friends until later in high school. I always thought he didn't like me but we ended up being really good friends when high school ended. Dallin is an amazing photographer and I admire that especially with my love of photography but I also admire Dallin's humor and willingness to do what is right. Dallin is serving in Brazil currently.

Dallan
Dallan was my c.o.w. at EFY of 2006. We became really good friends and even got to visit each other a couple times over the next few months. I love that I can call Dallan and we can talk for hours without an awkward moment or even a second of silence. He is so devoted to this gospel and it's so inspiring to me. He has a great sense of humor and loves to make people laugh.

I love my friends so much...
there are so many more I wish I could take the time to mention but I've been writing this for almost 2 hours now :)





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