Best Friends

So that is me and Jamie at 4th of July. I like that we're holding hands and cuddling like a couple (though we're not).

College is so great for making friends. Given Jamie (she gets red because though you can't tell in the picture we're both redheads) and I have known each other since 5th grade when I moved to Arizona. We were good friends until high school. During high school we each kind of went our own ways. Senior year of high school we had government & economics together and realized we were both headed to UA for school. Freshman year we ended up hanging out a bit and by sophomore year we were taking lots of classes together. Junior year we spent more time at each other's houses and together than apart. So naturally we moved in together this year. It's been really nice. Probably a very good thing too since I probably wouldn't see her half as much because we're both so busy. Though being sick has sucked it's been decent because it's invovled us, 2 couches, and lots of chick flicks. Moving across the country is scary enough in itself, but what's more scary is moving away from Jamie. For the past four years she's been my built in support system and I don't know how I'll deal with the stress of being a 1L without her. I guess I better get a cell phone plan with a million minutes. We live together and still use quite a few cell minutes talking to each other.

That would be AJ and I on Halloween during Freshman year. When I first met AJ I thought she was a total, stuck-up bitch (which she knows so I'm not talking behind her back). She grew up in Scottsdale, has traveled all over the world, and has been quite privileged. Getting to know her though you might not really guess that. She lived on the same hall as me Freshman year. Sophomore year she was an RA in the building next to mine. We became good friends quickly, bonding over a weekly improv comedy group. She helped me survive a lot of the ups and downs of Freshman year. Once I started dating Mark (my boyfriend for about 2 years) it was really like a trio. The three of us seemed to do everything together. I really can't complain though. AJ has always been a ton of fun and opened my eyes to things I may not have done otherwise. She worked with me for 3 years on the Tunnel of Oppression (a diversity program). She somehow managed to put up with my crap during that program - which was more than difficult at times. Though we've kind of drifted apart these past 2 years since she still lives in the dorms and I've lived off-campus, I still consider her to be one of my best friends. One possible advantage of going to Seattle for law school is that AJ and her boyfriend, Josh, are seriously considering moving there after graduation. At least I'd have one friend within a state or two of me that way.

Another excellent friend of mine is Andrea, also known as AJ sometimes. This is the girl that got me through high school. Without her I probably would have been a total homebody and not really enjoyed high school as much as I did (nor would I have had so many crazy stories). I love her so dearly but now she lives in Alaska. She got married in August and moved up there to be with her husband, who is in the Army. In the senior yearbook, my prediction for her invovled her marrying Brad, her now husband. At the time they weren't dating and had only gone to prom together but she had a crush on him. Who knew it would really come true. Someday I hope to win plane tickets to Alaska (that's the only way I'll be able to afford them) and go see her before they move wherever they end up next. There's a chance Brad will next be stationed in Hawaii which would be amazing to go visit them. Even though we don't talk a lot anymore I know she'll be happy and that's really all that matters.

Who knew that such random people would end up making such a big impact on your lives? It really can be amazing how much somebody can make an impact on your life. A great example of that is a friend I reconnected with about a year ago, Russ. I was looking through the people I would have graduated high school with if I had stayed in New Jersey on Facebook. I saw Russ and added him as a friend. Soon thereafter we were IMing like we had never stopped talking and now we talk all the time. Seeing him this summer was one of the highlights for sure. It will be a high point if I end up in New Jersey, I'll have at least one friend right away. (That's us in 4th grade at my going away party before moving to Arizona). We were in the same classes in 1st through 4th grade. When I moved we just kind of lost touch. It's neat though because talking to him feels like we never lost touch. It's just like talking my friend Ian.

Ian is a totally different story. I've known him since I was 5. We grew up living right down the street from each other. He's my only friend from NJ that has come to see me in AZ. We talk on IM all the time and I see him and his family every summer when I visit. His family is truly like a second family to mine. Yet another high point of going to law school in NJ would be that he'd be close by (at college in upstate NY, well closer than he is now) and his family would be within driving distance. Not that all of my actual family wouldn't be nearby, but it would be nice to have so many friends too. (The other girl in the picture is Sara, Ian's little sister).

Okay I suppose I am done rambling for the most part for the evening. There really are a lot more people who could end up being talked about on here. I'm sure in the future they will be. This has been more like the character development of a book. These are the people who will end up being talked about a lot, I'm sure. Not that there's a ton (or anyone) who probably reads this but it may be helpful to underst