Tubthumping

This is Paul.

Paul is my little brother. I beat him to Earth by 1 year, 1 month, and 1 day. He has tried to defeat me at every other race since he was born.
He usually wins.
Paul is also my best friend. He left in June to serve a 2-year mission for the LDS church. He's now in Mexico City. We get an email from him every Monday, but that's all the communication we get. The day he left, I took work off and skipped class. I came home from dropping him off at the MTC, curled up in my bed, and fell asleep watching his favorite movie: Scott Pilgrim vs The World. It was better than crying to sleep, I guess. I miss him a lot.


This is Jen.

Jen was my neighbor all last year. She and I became really good friends, and I can honestly say she's the closest friend I've had (outside of my family) for a very long time. I couldn't tell you when our friendship began. She was friends with the girls I was rooming with, so we all hung out a lot. But by Christmas she knew everything about me and I knew that I could trust her with anything. By knowing her, I've grown into what I consider a better person. In July, she left for a mission, like Paul. She's in Oklahoma City now. I have less contact with her than I do with Paul because she isn't family.

This is Stephanie.

Stephanie is three years older than me. When I was a freshman in high school, she was a senior and that's when we became friends. We were part of a very small youth group at this time, so we were thrown together before school started. We remained friends throughout the school year, and we are still friends six years later, despite the fact that we've only seen each other a few times since she graduated. I've always looked up to her as a hero. Steph just returned from a mission in Argentina in April. This past weekend we were reunited and spent Saturday catching up and revisiting old friends. She left for Virginia the next day. She'll be returning to Idaho for school in the fall. Who knows when we'll meet next?


Growing up in the military, I'm used to fleeting friendships and many goodbyes. Things change, and I like to think I'm a fairly adaptable human being. But there is something so much harder about saying goodbye, when you're not going anywhere. Right now, I feel like I'm being left behind. These three people are the most major examples of why I feel this way, but there's more. A wave of roommates and friends who are graduating, leaving on missions, or getting married has hit me hard. It's the reason that I moved to an apartment complex where I didn't know anybody. Everyone I cared about had plans that couldn't involve me. And now, I'm moving out of this ward and complex that I have grown to love over the past five months. My new friends are staying, and though I'm only moving one mile away, I know it's not likely that I will find time to visit once fall starts. Move-out day is this Saturday, and despite years of learning to say goodbye, I still find myself knocked down and depressed by this fact.


This is Marissa.

Marissa was one of my roommates during my freshman year of college. She and I bonded instantly after an incident involving Asian Aerobics and some salsa. We've remained pretty close ever since. She and I will be moving in together in fall. She is so much fun and I love her like crazy. I can't wait to be her roommate again! There will be much partying and watching of Modern Family.


This is Alex.

She has been my roommate this Spring and Summer. I adore this girl. Though we'll only be roommates for a few more weeks, we've planned many adventures to cram into our limited time frame.


This is Janelle.

She is another dear friend of mine from last year. She did a study abroad program in Europe this summer. She got back in June, but she's been living it up in Idaho since then. She is moving into the complex that I am moving out of in Fall. I'm super jealous, but I know that the mile distance won't stop us from partying. I'm way excited to see her again.


This is the Stanley family.

Salem is my mom's youngest brother and one of my favorite uncles. He is my favorite, mostly because he married Megan- one of the coolest people I have ever met. They just moved their family to Provo so that Salem could do the MBA program at BYU. Megan is super athletic. We have plans to hike Timpanogas and run the Man vs Mud race in September. I'm so excited to have them so close.

Everything is going to be great.