CrazyGirl♥ observes Memories

So, hitting a point of what I'm deeming "desperate writer's block" (that point in time where you REALLY want to write, but are so out of ideas you can't think of anything), I decided to post on Facebook and see if any of my friends had a good suggestion of what I should write about. One of the people I've been friends with the longest commented that I should write a blog about memories. Well, she and I have PLENTY of memories together. Some are sweet, some are fun, and some have been sworn to secrecy. (Didn't every little kid have a secret?) But, I think right now, it's time to shed some light on those memories.

So, now that my friend is freaking out reading this, I'm NOT going to blog about our secret. It's a secret for a reason my friend! But, you and I did have some pretty fantastic times together. All the times we spied on my sister and your brother, swearing that they would end up married someday, and all the crazy adventures we went on simply because we imagined an entire scenario. Did you know you were the first person I'd ever met who owned a guinea pig? I thought that was the coolest thing ever.

I remember this one time that we were at her house, playing Super Mario 64 (if there are any youngins reading this, that's a game for the Nintendo 64, pretty much the GREATEST gaming system of all time), it was five of us; me (of course), her (Taylor), her brother (Zac), my sister, and my younger brother. Super Mario was only a one-player game, and Zac had the controller at the time. He was in the world with the grass and the tilting bridge thing and the bomb-ombs and (my personal favorite) the Koopa the turtle that you could jump on, hijack his shell and surf around the world until something hit you. (Please, 90's kids, tell me you know the level I'm talking about. Where you had to run up that HUGE mountain that had oversized metal balls rolling down the pathway trying to pummel you to death and if you FINALLY made it to the top of that mountain then you had to defeat a boss.) Anyway, we were on that level, and there were boxes you could smash for coins. But there was also a small box. And Zac had made Mario pick up the small box and started calling it "Baby Box" and he ran around the entire level holding Baby Box, until he tripped over something or ran into a bad guy and the box shattered. Then, enjoying the attention from his gimmicks, he started running all over in search of Baby Box, saying maybe it had run away or was scared or lost. For some reason, I found this hysterical. So hysterical that I actually wet my pants laughing at him, and then wanted to die of embarrassment. Because, of course, both my siblings, as well as Zac and Taylor, knew that I had wet my pants laughing. To this day, I don't know why I thought that was SO funny. But apparently, it was. I have to admit, I was crushed when I found out they were moving. And so far away too. I can't even begin to imagine how crazy everything would have been if Taylor and I had been friends through all of junior high and high school. . .we would have wreaked havoc. Just sayin'. 

But, after they left, life still went on, I had another friend, one from school, and she and I were inseparable through late elementary school and junior high. I'm not going to lie, we were probably kind of nerdy (then again, that was when junior highers actually hit an  awkward stage) but we thought we were awesome. I remember we both saved up and bought Tamagachi's. We thought they were the coolest thing ever. We would hook them to our belt loops or our backpacks and take them to school with us (in case you don't know what a Tamagachi is, it's a keychain that has a screen and some buttons and you get to have your own virtual pet that needs to be fed, played with, taken to the doctor, and you even had to clean up its poop. But ours were REALLY high-tech, and you could put the sensor at the top of the keychain up to your friend's and your Tamagachis could play together [and occasionally they would actually have a baby together. . .AWKWARD] which gave your pet happiness points and that made it live longer). Our teacher told us not to play with them during class, but being the extreme rebels we were, we played with them during class when we figured the teacher wasn't looking (Mom, if you're reading this. I never EVER played with it during class, I always payed attention. . .I also ALWAYS did my homework). She and I also became masters of passing notes. Our junior high was notorious for always seating people alphabetically, and having last names close in the alphabet meant most of the time we sat one in front of the other. We had entire routines planned out, where she would braid a note into my hair or I'd fake attempting to pop my back, etc. (Again, mom if you're reading this, I NEVER passed notes. . .EVER. [Also, for you who might be reading still in junior high or high school, don't pass notes in class. Bad plan.] ) 

I made another friend in junior high, and she and I got really creative with the note passing (we had to be creative, we didn't have texting). At one point in time we were paying a kid in our math class a quarter a week to be middle man (basically we sat on opposite ends of the classroom, and he sat directly between us. Somehow we convinced him that a quarter a week was more than enough pay for him to catch the note in the middle, make sure the teacher didn't see, and then pass it to the other person, and all without ever being allowed to read them.) One time, we were passing notes, and (since you can't read tone) we had a misunderstanding and ended up not talking for three whole class periods. Then, at lunch, when we had calmed down a little, we went to talk about it, and ended up busting up laughing at how ridiculous it was. I think she might actually still have those notes, and we were only in 8th grade. 

Of course, after junior high, high school rolled around. And, my-oh-my, did high school have its memories. Starting from day one. I was (as hard as it is to imagine) a cheerleader. Here's photo evidence (also, don't mind the awkward perm. . .I thought it would be fun. . .)

Anyway, my first day of class, during keyboarding, I got seated next to this kid, who at first I thought was kind of weird. He talked a lot more than I was used to, and didn't seem to care what the teacher was talking about. Soon enough, I realized he was more than weird, and that maybe we would actually get along. We ended up staying seated there all year long. And, more often than not, he was doing what he wanted to do, and not necessarily what we were supposed to be doing. Somehow in the teacher's eyes, I was always going along with him. I remember one day, she had locked all our computer screens so we would pay attention to her. Well, he figured out that even though our mouses didn't work, the calculator button on the keyboard still did. So, appearing to be paying attention, he started pressing the button, over and over and over. Apparently realizing that, for once, he was paying attention, the teacher started to think something was up. When she figured it out, he had pulled up over 200 calculators on his locked computer screen. For the rest of the class period, she constantly checked both his and my computers. And yet, he ended up being one of my best friends. 

I was truly blessed in high school with my close-knit group of girl friends. Yeah, we had our differences, we didn't always get along, and sometimes we could be downright petty. But, we were still close, and we all had very strong morals, so we dealt with a lot of positive peer pressure. We never really considered partying, drugs or alcohol. It was just assumed we wouldn't. It was really fun too, because we not only went to school together, but we also went to church and youth group together. We spend a TON of time around each other. We did these things for each of our sweet 16 birthdays, and called them the 16 sweet things. For one of our friends we were making a scrapbook as a surprise, and accidentally I mentioned something about it in front of her, and realizing what I'd done, trailed off in mid-sentence. My sister went white as a sheet, freaking out that I'd spoiled the surprise, and our other friend started saying "Are you CRAPPING me?!?" over and over and over. We still say that because it was so funny. I have laughed with those girls, I have cried with those girls, and we have all spent a little time mad at one another, but we had so many good times together, and I'm glad we are still friends. 

Of course, then there is college. I didn't get to jet off to my dream university or anything glamorous like that. And sometimes, that REALLY bothers me. But, I take for granted the amazing friends I have here in town. One of my friends I bonded with at the end of my senior year. And she will forever be one of my BEST friends. We have made so many memories together in the past two years, and I cherish every last one. This girl has seriously been there for me through thick and thin, we have overcome so much, and I love her to pieces. One of my all-time favorite memories of me and her is when we were camping. One morning we woke up kind of early, and she rolls over, stretches, and get this huge grin. Then says "Let's all be violent." Just like that. She is the one who is ALWAYS willing to go to Target with me, even when we are flat broke. We also did henna tattoos, and she was the one who was game for both of us doing minion tramp stamps. We've figured out that we have this wavelength that both of us seem to be on most of the time, and it's awesome.

And then there is my other friend, we were close in high school, but really seem to have bonded in college. I don't know if it's the feeling of being mutually stuck at the community college, or the fact that we are surrounded by creepy people. But, either way, I'm so glad we've become close. We definitely share this mutual love of the movie Pitch Perfect, and will quote it often. One of the greatest memories was senior year homecoming where we got to go stand on top of the tower and watch the football game from there. It was amazing. Then, a few weeks ago, we went and watched a meteor shower (okay, there weren't really too many meteors) but it ended up being really fun. Everyone just kind of hanging out, having a great time. I know we've had some pretty crazy ups and downs, but I'm sure that the future will just bring more great memories!

Another great friend of mine, I've known since she was in kindergarten and I was in 1st grade. I love that girl to death. We have like a gazillion and one memories together. We used to go on these "short" walks that would last up to 5 or 6 hours. We would just talk. About anything and everything. We could talk for hours. She actually just got married in December, and I'm so happy for her. I don't even know where to begin with our memories. One of my favorites is the video we made one day after school, of us being ninjas. It's up on my Facebook page if you're just dying to see it. Or the one we made with our mutual friend, and her now sister in law. Then I got the blessing of being in her wedding. I was so happy for her, and I'm so excited for the life she is starting with her husband, although I do miss her. I know she will always be one of my dearest and closest friends, and I love her for that.

I just have to say that I live a pretty blessed life. I know I didn't cover everyone I know and love in here. But, there is only so much to say in one blog post. I'm so thankful for each and every one of the friends I have, and for all of the friends I've yet to make. God has truly blessed me. I also have some friends that I used to be close to, and we have just kind of drifted apart, and that makes me sad. But, I know God has a plan for all of us, and I'm excited to see where we are all going.
Til Next Time,
CrazyGirl♥