Ode to a Friend

So, it may seem odd that I’m writing this post about one of the probably three people who actually read my blog, but alas, I am doing just that.

You see, growing up, like all children, I wanted to be “cool” and I wanted to be liked. I thought if I act a certain way then I will be the person that everyone wants to know. I also had an image of one person who I thought, “if I could be like them, then I will be cool.” Everyone has this person, the one who embodies that older individual you wish to become. This person for me was funny, smart, beautiful, and seemed to be loved by everyone she met. She was friends with my older brother and his (at the time) girlfriend, which made her even cooler because I knew my big brother liked her.

The older I got, the more I realized that the things about this person that I admired was her overall confidence (as an adult now, I know that confidence may not be felt by the individual but seen by the crowd). She always seemed so sure of herself and was achieving so many goals. I want to clarify; I was never terribly close to her as a child, but watched from afar through her friendship with my brother and sister-in-law. Then the coolest thing happened, social media was created and thanks to Facebook, I was now “friends” with her and she “tweeted” me. As I have become closer to her, I have seen in a bigger picture the struggles that life has thrown at her. She has not had an easy run (but who has?) and has made mistakes, but I still admire her as much today as I did in adolescents.

 I was thinking the other day, how it is just like God to have the person I admired all my life, walk a similar path. What do I mean? She is not married. I am sure she loves that I am pointing this out. However, this has been so amazing for me. I am surrounded by people who got married early on (25 years old and younger) and have few people in my life who are in their “late 20’s-30’s” who are still single. I am blessed that I do know a few, but that list is small. Anyway, what I was realizing in thinking about how life has played out, I’m so thankful that this strong woman that I have looked up to most of my life, has kept her sense of humor and love whether her life has played out as she has envisioned it would.

As an adult, as I have grown in my friendship with her, I can say that I admire her as much now as I did as a child but in a very different way. As I said earlier, her life has been hard, but she has been a huge source of encouragement and strength to me as I have walked through hard moments. She has given me the okay to be real, to be cynical at times but to remain light hearted. She has shown me that life is worth living and no one can take your life from you unless you give them permission. I am so thankful that as an adult, she is not just my “big brothers friend” but I can truly say has become mine as well. So to Autumn, thank you for being a part of my life. I truly love you so much!