I can honestly say that I give thanks for my family and friends every day, but I suppose that all of you deserve special recognition in honor of Thanksgiving (because, to borrow, and alter based on holidays, a line from Love Actually, the bastion of cinematic Christmas/romantic comedy genius, “if you can’t say it at Thanksgiving [actually Christmas], when can you, eh?”). I count my blessings every day for the family that God has given me. In a world where so many families suffer innumerable hardships and have relationships wrought with strife, I feel so lucky that my family, despite its imperfections (like every family’s) is intact and just full of love. The four of us had dinner last night when my parents got back into town (they’re meeting with a realtor today so they can find themselves a new home in DC!!!!!), and I couldn’t help pausing for a moment while we were all chatting and laughing to think about how lucky I am and about how much I love my family. I feel as though my relationships with each member of the family have each gotten stronger since graduation, which has reassured me that maybe I CAN find the balance between breaking out in the world and being independent while also staying grounded and connected to the people I care about the most. In addition to our cozy little foursome, I am equally blessed with a wonderful extended family.
Thank you Tim for actively ruining this with your aversion to smiling for photos
My "Lake family" (if you hear me talk about my "fake siblings", here they are!)I don’t even know where to start when it comes to my friends. Ever since graduation, I have struggled with the scattering of my closest college friends to all corners of the globe, and have (somewhat begrudgingly) had to dust off the old Skype account (which was the only reason I made it through my year abroad in one piece) in order to keep in touch, rather than popping my head in the room next door or walking all of 5 minutes for a hot chocolate break. There is no way I can pay tribute to all of my friends in this post (God knows that concision is not one of my virtues when it comes to letter-writing and blogging), but I just wanted to take a few minutes and thank the people who have touched my life so much. I can’t even say how blessed I feel to know all of you.
My closest girlfriends (my senior year roommates plus Allie, my roommate sophomore year; but minus Lauren)I’ll start with Allie, my first true Georgetown friend. I remember how we used to go to breakfast at Leo’s every morning before class, initially in a group but then just the two of us. Actually, I was thinking about it, and, because of the fact that she was in LAS, I can indirectly trace most of my closest Georgetown friendships to her, so I will be forever grateful to her for that! I think it’s impossible to put into words everything that Allie means to me, because we’ve been through so much together, but it basically comes down to the fact that we are kindred spirits. Some of my happiest college memories have come when we had head-banging dance parties to release our daily frustration, or when we walked on the banks of the Seine in Paris and through the windy streets of La Petite France in Strasbourg. Our conversations may, at times, dissolve into delirium, but it’s only because we’re THAT comfortable being weird around each other. She has been the most incredible confidante imaginable, and I am confident that I could talk to her about nearly anything and she would give me the most amazing advice ever.
Molly. Our friendship is epic in nature, with Facebook albums, phrases (“CLARO”) and gravity-defying jumping pictures stemming from it. Sure, we were good friends before going abroad, but, when I looked back at our wall-to-wall on Facebook recently, I noticed how NORMAL (perhaps bordering on boring? lol) we were before we went to Spain. Our posts used to be so cordial, like “Molly, I really like your new profile picture! We should get a group together and see a movie soon,” and, “Kristen, I really like your new haircut! I hope you had a fun Christmas break.” Now, inside jokes and name-calling (we have been known to throw “bitch around”, and sometimes call each other by the names of my host sister’s pet hamsters) abound, but that’s only because...well, because we kind of turned into sisters when we spent 16 hours a day together in the Dirty Sal. We are each other’s partner in crime, always willing to try new things, even if we look silly (or get too drunk?) in the process. Whenever I do something fun, I literally ALWAYS think, ‘I wish Molly were here,’ so you can’t even imagine my glee that she’s coming back to DC soon! Despite the fact that Molls is my friend who I can always rely on for a good time (and more than a few good laughs), our multi-hour deep life chat over 4th of July weekend is evidence of the fact that we CAN have conversations that don’t involve Spanish pirates, Harry Potter, or the ladroning of certain accessories.
Lauren was one of the many LASer friends that I made, and one of my first memories of our friendship was the set of email exchanges we had over the summer after freshman year. At that point, I barely knew her, but the interest she took in what was going on in my life speaks to the fact that she is the most giving friend I know. I often find myself feeling guilty when I’m with her, because I feel like we’re always talking about my problems, but she always shrugs it off. All of my closest friends know that, as a hopeless romantic, my head is perpetually in the clouds, and, while Lauren is definitely so supportive of whatever makes me happy and listens to all of my glowiest moments, she also has the power to bring me back down to reality and think logically about whatever issue I’m tackling. That undying support on the one hand and reason on the other is one of the things that makes her the most incredible friend. Whether we’re having the deepest of life chats (we LITERALLY talk about anything and everything) or I’m calling her sobbing, unable to produce any words, she always has the most insightful of advice. I truly think that she knows me better than I know myself, and she has the amazing power to predict how I will handle certain situations (and read my mind) because of how well she knows me. And, I can safely say, it brings me so much joy when one of us says, “Did you SEE... [insert celebrity’s name]?”, and the other immediately knows which people.com story the other is speaking of an has thoughts on it, leaving the other people around us completely confused. Also, Lauren is very much responsible for introducing me to new parts of the city and new things to do in the city, which speaks to her adventurous spirit, a part of her that I so love. I can’t even begin to describe how glad I am that she is not only in DC with me, but is also working at Georgetown- our lunch dates always make me so happy! The inside jokes...the people in Hoya Court must judge us like no other...
Before I came to college, I didn’t know many people who share my name, but you can imagine my delight when my Burrow roommate turned out to be the beautiful (and similarly left-handed!) Kristin! From our first bonding experiences with our favorite Grinnellians over Celtics games and being beer pong partners (we were actually unstoppable, just ask all of the other teams who we so gracefully dismissed), I knew that we were destined to be good friends. By senior year, our gym dates (I think she is the only one of my friends who truly shares my obsession with exercise), bitchfests and TV watches had become pillars of our friendship. Kristin’s biting, sarcastic sense of humor cracks me up like no other, as do her absolutely unforgettable faces. She is one of the smartest people I know, but, rather than take herself too seriously, she adds life and humor to every situation she’s in. I love our serious life Skype chats (yes, one of the many perks of Skype: you can still have those serious chats), but her power to make me laugh is just the best. Also, I just have to say that her close relationship with her brother is what I aspire to in terms of the closeness of my relationship with my own brother.
Kate and I first bonded over the fact that, unlike our other friends (and much of the rest of the college population), we were both going abroad for an entire year. Having her there, in the same time zone and always available to chat about the joys and challenges of studying abroad in a non-English-speaking country (or countries, in my case!) was so reassuring, and I feel like we had our own little sisterhood of full-year study abroad survivors that our other friends couldn’t necessarily relate to. Whether it was talking about creepy Italian/Spanish men, issues with classes, language snafus, the joys of traveling, missing Georgetown or getting proposed to (!!!!!!! this was all Kate), I felt like there was someone who could relate to whatever I was going through. We were then able to share our experiences about our return to life in America, and to the Hilltop (slash, to a university with ACTUAL work), all the while developing a bond as roommates. Kate told me a few weeks after graduation that she was having difficulty falling asleep without the low drone of my fan as white noise (since, being in the stuffy loft, I turned the fan on every night while I slept), and I will never be able to think about the Charlie Bit My Finger auto tune remix, dates and goat cheese, ANTM, Project Runway, Bride’s Magazine or wedding planning without thinking of her. Seeing the fruits of her hard labor coming to fruition on her wedding day was such a wonderful feeling, and seeing her as a blushing bride was such a joy. And, consequently, the two most wonderful weekends of my life happened to be her wedding weekend and the weekend when I visited she and Dave (and others) in Georgia this summer. I loved having her as a birthday buddy- our joint party certainly made for more than a few interesting stories, and I appreciate her ability to laugh at my weird quirks.
Alexandra surprises me every day with her sunny disposition and willingness to tackle daily challenges head-on. Whenever life has dealt her a tough hand, she has not given up, but has employed her inner strength, which I wish I could muster more of at times, and has become all the stronger for it. Her child-like spirit is absolutely infectious, and I don’t know if I’ve ever seen anyone get as excited about chocolate, dogs and Disney movies as her (I have to say, the chocolate stash was so key to making it through the last few weeks before graduation). She is truly an inspiration because of the grace with which she lives her life, and she is incredibly giving to those who she cares about the most.
Since these are my closest girlfriends, I just had to acknowledge all of them. But it does not mean that I don’t love and give thanks for the rest of you! Whether you are a friend who I’ve known since I was seven and have shared in so many Georgetown basketball memories with; a friend in law school in NY who, as it turns out, is my twin in a lot of ways; a friend in grad school at Georgetown who has taught me how to laugh and not take myself too seriously; a friend who I met in France and so enjoy reliving our many experiences there with (par exemple, the canneberge lady); an office friend with whom I can be a complete and total creeper and know that you are not only not judging me but are being equally creepy; two wonderful new roommates who have induced so much laughter and have introduced me to so many great people and experiences; a friend who never refuses a dance party and a French conversation; someone currently in the mountains of Georgia who has taught me so much about myself and about love; or any other friend in between, I really do give thanks for you every day. The various people who have come into my life, from 99 Days, Tombs trivia, Georgetown basketball, and various other outlets make it worth it to get up every day- it’s hard not to want to get up when you’re surrounded by so many incredible people!!!!!!!!!!!
I am wishing you and all of your loved ones a VERY HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Of course, I had to add in some pictures for the “Awwwwwwwww” factor...and because, with my photo-taking addiction, I’ve built up quite a cache over the years.
At Kate's wedding! We take pretty pictures :)
...but don't ever accuse us of taking ourselves too seriously!
No words. Just hugs.
ReplyDeleteLove you. :-)
aaaaaawwwwwww. :)
ReplyDeleteThis is so sweet, Kristen-now I miss you even more!!!
ReplyDelete