Moving On Up

“Enough already! We get it. You had a perfect roommate in college. You became best friends. You didn’t want to leave her. We know!!!” complains everyone that follows me on any social media platform, or just knows me in general. And yes, I am sorry for the overload of love and sap, but these nine month sleepovers do not go as well for everyone, and I am just so grateful.

I won’t lie, in the beginning, there were times when I thought to myself, Is this seriously going to work? Living in such tight quarters with someone is not easy, and we will be the first to tell you that. We would also BOTH be the first to tell you that if someone had asked us if we’d become best friends by the end, it would have been a flat no. Madelyn and I went to grade school and high school together, so right off the bat we were breaking college roommate rule #1- Don’t room with a friend.

I do understand this philosophy of steering clear of strong relationships and branching out for the first year of college, but I am way too much of a homebody and creature of habit to be thrown into a brand new place with my bonus being a stranger to sleep in the same room with. Yeah, no thanks.

Fast forward from the worry and the secret Pinterest board planning our beautiful temporary home (which ended up as fabulous as we dreamed), Madelyn and I did not want to leave! Yes, we do understand that with a water bottle and a good playlist, we could walk to each other’s houses, but that just is not the same as spending late nights on our rug laughing about nonsense when we should clearly be studying. Or illegally making toast and grilled chicken on our forbidden grill. Or getting ready together while staying in our towel wraps for an excessive amount of time. Or knowing when we need a group nap with little lights. It just isn’t the same.

We were calm, cool, and collected about moving out until a friend had mentioned it took several hours to move out of her dorm. We looked at each other both thinking, we have sooooooo much more s t u f f than she does. We went home, turned on music, and got to work! We didn’t even know where to start, but we began by stripping the walls. Literally, paint, drywall, you name it, it came off the wall!DSC00731

We resolved this (not so) small problem like any smart girls would, a field trip to Home Depot with a piece of the wall that should have still been a part of the wall! They matched the paint, we returned, and the wall started looking better than before. No one could tell, and there was no way in heck we were going to pay fines for having cute decor.

All in all, our adorable 2409 became such a fun place where laughter and smiles came aplenty and homesick tears began to fade as the weeks went by. We have a million and one memories of our time that we made just about as fun as anyone could with plans to move on for a million and one more. That teeny tiny room gave us the friendship that we will forever be thankful for.

Next year will be much harder than I had anticipated. Don’t get me wrong, I am eager, anxious, and beyond excited to get to Mizzou, but I am sad that my best friend and roommate will not be coming with me. Instagram, we have many plans to reunite and annoy the heck out of everyone, so don’t you worry. She will be knee-deep in nursing school and I will be waist-deep in papers that I don’t know how to start, but we are moving on to bigger and better things to make our lives extra fabulous. This is my fab life, and I am oh so grateful that Madelyn is apart of it. 

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Her smile was constant. Mine came after the constant flow of tears. Because I was sad? No, no I just checked my final grade in Econ. 

 

PS: we decided that we lived so well together as roommates, we shouldn’t let it go to waist. After we graduate, we will be coming at you Monica Geller and Rachel Green style until we meet our lobsters. Now THAT will be fun.

Our Darling Duo

St. Pete has been on the books for several months now. The annual business trip that we girls have conveniently turned into a mother-daughter trip was just fabulous enough to fill our love buckets until next year.

Now, I do know what you’re thinking. Skipping school for vacation? Is that necessary? Absolutely not. In fact, it’s 100% irrational, and I will be paying for it, but a trip with my mom? At a pink hotel? I’m. So. There. She really needs to learn how to say no. Like, “No Lindsey, you should not miss four days of classes for no reason!” But until then, vacation on.

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Four days. Four bags. One gal.

We are absolutely those girls that take ALL the travel pictures, but we will take that into account the next time we book a 6am flight. “You’re out of chai?” Girl, it’s 5am, there is no way you’ve had a line around the corner for chai’s . Iced coffee it is, but not without an eye roll. Oh the bags (under our eyes!!). But also, oh the bags, as in luggage. Three words that will most definitely never come out of either of our mouths: “I travel light!” HA. To the people that can pack ONE outfit a day, how do you do it? All the cudos.

I went from pool to beach to pool to beach, waiting for the lovely lady to get out of her meetings. She’d order drinks and we’d repeat. Hers was the real deal, but if y’all recall I’m only 19!! After we turned our bodies into lava, the shower and aloe prepped us for dinner. Only to return and be in bed by 10, of course.

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It would have been easier to cover this absence up had I not gone from human to tomato on the first day. Y’all (I can say that, I’m still in FL), my skin!! People that pay for a peel at spas, I’m going to let you in on a little secret, I got this one for a killer deal! Okay fine, it was free! This classic burn has left my skin fresher than ever, you know now that it has shed like a snake.

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Save your breath. No, we are not sisters.

The highlight of our trip was catching up with family nearby. The sweetest cousins that just don’t live close enough were my dinner dates not once but twice. They are friends to my idol, Emily Ley, and my heart went from smiling to SMILING when I FaceTimed her. Yes, you can read that again, but it’s still going to say FaceTime. If you’re wondering (and I know you are), she’s as sweet as her book, planners, and hecka beautiful Instagram.

 

Well, that’s a wrap on our trip- back to reality! I just love our duo. I love the things I get to do with her, the places she’s taking me, and the smiles we share. I’m so thankful for this human. I’m even more thankful I get to call her mom. And I’m triple thankful I get to live this fab life with her.

 

A Prayer, The Thank You Kind

College. College is hard. It turns out that change is more constant than routine, giving our lives a rather fluid consistency. Friends that I have just met this year are coming in and out, grades are… well, out the window, but “good” can serve its purpose when asked, and home is just a few miles too far away. Like I said, it’s hard. The one constant that always remains? He has been there for me when other people have not (or when mom just doesn’t have enough time to squeeze a road trip into her Tuesday lunch). God — good old God.

God,

Thank you for my people. I love them. I love them a lot!

Thank you for the people that have not stayed in my life. They taught me things about myself, and I needed to meet them.

Thank you for keeping me grounded in college.

Thank you for letting me make mistakes. I’m learning that learning curves are my best curves.

Thank you for the days when you know I need a Netflix episode in bed so my teachers relax on homework (which could come more often if You were wondering.)

Thank you for my heart, that I try to give to everyone, but keep for myself when I know I should.

Thank you for my planner. I’m fully aware that it is irrelevant because You have a mind of Your own, but it looks pretty and makes me think I have it all together.

Thank you for leading me through life with a plan. A plan that I would love to know every detail of and write it in my pretty calendar for next year, but cannot. It simply does not work that way, and I will eventually come to terms with it (But for now, I’m going to just let You keep ruining them- apparently it’s more fun that way).

Thank you for motivation and determination.

Thank you for FaceTime and texting.

Thank you for children.

Thank you for wise (old) people to teach us all they know.

Thank you for dogs. Puppies in particular, but they are all pretty cute.

Thank you for hot showers on rainy days.

Thank you for my smile, her smile, his smile, and all of their smiles. (Some of Your best work, in my opinion).

Thank you for the power to further knowledge every single day. Just when I think I’m getting super smart, I go and learn something new.

Thank you for ALL the coffee to get me through the paper I waited last minute to write.

Thank you for a good grade on the previously mentioned, extremely procrastinated, paper.

Thank you for keeping me safe.

Thank you for chocolate. And ice cream — don’t forget the ice cream.

Thank you for my role models to guide me through life.

Thank you for my health.

Thank you for books and stories to captivate our thoughts.

Thank you for the beauty within the earth, itself.

Thank you for the sunshine, the clouds, the rain, and the thunderstorms that remind us that You are indeed still up there.

Thank you for the bed that lets me dream my dreams and stay up past midnight thinking my thinks.

Thank you for opportunities — ALL of them.

Thank you for french fries — the crinkly ones.

Thank you for the beach that gives me all the feels.

Thank you for my memories. I love them.

Thank you for blessing me in so many ways.

God, most importantly, thank you, thank you, thank you for listening.

The most sincere thank you’s do not have to be the deepest. It is true that many people think a prayer must be the rosary on your knees. Well, I am here to tell you that I talk to God probably 101 times a day, and trust me, I’m not on my knees!! It’s kind of like shooting your high school BFF that “Happy Wednesday!! I miss you!” text. Every person’s prayer is different, but it’s the actual prayer that counts. How the message gets to God does not matter. Clouds are my trigger. A sky full of beautiful clouds instantly sends a little thank you card up to The Big Guy from me.

I’m grateful. And oh boy, I’m so, so thankful.

What are you thankful for?