Charlottesville and UVA are gorgeous, especially this time of year. I loved walking around and seeing parts of the campus again. It never gets old!
Anna lives in a Christian house with 15 other girls, which I thought was really cool. She's a small group leader, along with a lot of the other girls in her house, and I know she's helping out her freshman girls more than she knows. When she told me she was going to be a small group leader over the summer, I thought "but of course." Of course, because she would be the perfect one. Not perfect in that she does everything right, but she has the perfect heart to be one. She's the most selfless person I know. She cares so much, so so much. She cares to the point where she forgets about herself sometimes, and it's beautiful. She leads by serving and loving, which I know she's doing for her girls. She's part of a Christian fellowship called Chi Alpha and I'm so glad God lead her there. I've heard nothing but great things about it. It's like she belongs there, a perfect fit, and it makes me so happy. She also frequents this place called the "Stud" which is a Christian study center that provides study rooms, free coffee and snacks, a library and friendly staff. I'm really jealous because there's nothing like that at JMU that I know of, or else I'd go all the time!
Side note: Perks of Being a Wallflower was such a great movie. I would definitely recommend it. It had me laughing and tearing up, and it had a great message. I haven't read the book, so maybe that's even better. I'll have to compare the two one day. But for now, I love the movie. What really got me was something the characters said about love. One of the main characters, Sam - a senior in high school was talking to Charlie - a freshman in high school. Basically in the movie, Sam and her brother Patrick befriend Charlie. Charlie was having a rough time because the summer before he started high school his best friend committed suicide. So he didn't really have any friends, until Sam and Patrick walked into his life. The part I loved is when Sam and Charlie are talking, and Sam says "Why do I, and everyone I love, pick people who treat us like we're nothing?" Charlie replies "We accept the love we think we deserve."
Wow. How true is that. How insightful. How real. And that's something I've struggled with in my own life, and I've seen my friends struggle with it as well. When you know your friends, or even yourself, deserve better. But they don't see it. And sometimes you don't see it yourself until later. For some, not at all.
But it's a great movie, I'd love to see it again. It was happy, sad, free, real. It made me wish I was more of a free spirit, like Sam in the movie. When she's standing in the back of a truck, arms spread, driving through the tunnel like she was flying. I know it's just a movie, but a part of me wishes I was more like that. I'm usually too self conscious or worried of what other people think of me. I'm a classic wallflower. But I don't want to be, so I'm trying to work on that.
Overall, this weekend was the best. I'm so lucky to have such an amazing best friend that I've had for so long. We had multiple girls in the house ask us how long we've been friends. And I didn't realize how crazy it was until we said it a few times. Since 4th grade. 4th GRADE. Then Anna said something that blew my mind - we've been friends for 10 years. Wow. That's more than half of our lives. Anna's little brother is turning 10, which is how long we've known each other. I remember Anna's mom carrying him into our 4th grade classroom in his little car seat. And now he's as old as we were at that time. CRAZY. I honestly can't believe it. I feel so old and so young at the same time.
I'm so blessed to have someone like Anna walk through more than half of my life with me. She's been like a sister and always been there for me, no matter what. Through late nights, break ups, embarrassing moments, both tough and happy times. I'm not sure how else to describe it except Proverbs 17:17 "A friend loves at all times." All times. We've always been there for each other, and we always will.
This is at Anna's surprise 16th birthday party
So much has changed. But so much has also stayed the same. We go to different colleges, have different majors, have different journeys. But we've managed to stay best friends through it all. And lucky for us, we're only a phone call away from each other!
To end, here's another one of my favorite quotes from Perks of Being a Wallflower. I thought it seemed appropriate.
"You made me feel not alone. Because I know there are people who say all these things don't happen. And there are people who forget what it's like to be 16 when they turn 17. I know these will all be stories someday. And our pictures will become old photographs. We'll all become somebody's mom or dad. But right now these moments are not stories. This is happening. I am here and I am looking at her. And she is so beautiful. I can see it. This one moment when you know you're not a sad story. You are alive, and you stand up and see the lights on the buildings and everything that makes you wonder. And you're listening to that song and that drive with the people you love most in this world. And in this moment I swear...
...we are infinite."
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