My friend Laura is getting ready to leave on her mission on Monday. She will leave to Spain and serve for a year and a half in the Malaga mission. I have very mixed feelings about her leaving. Part of my just longs to have her stay, but the other part of me knows that missions are the most incredible thing a person could experience. I know that she is doing a good thing.
But I want to say a little farewell to her, and thank her for all that she has done for me the past few months of my life.
Laura and I met the day I returned home from my own mission. She came over once that fall and we watched Modern Family, but then we didn't really hang out again for a long time after that. I was still strange and fresh from my mission, not really knowing what my interests were, my likes or dislikes. I was trying to find out who I was again, but in a real world sense. Anyway, I changed a lot since the first time we hung out.
Then, this past summer we ran into each other once on campus, said the usual "hey we should hang out soon" and then didn't talk to each other the rest of summer, until I invited her to come to the Iron and Wine concert at the end of August. She came, and we were able to talk a lot. Laura is really good at carrying a conversation. She can make anybody feel comfortable.
That's kind of the whole introduction of how we met. And then, from there, that's when we really started to meet. Laura moved just down the street from me, and we hung out practically everyday. We became best friends. We had an instant connection that doesn't come along that often. It was one of those feelings that we just understood each other from the very get go. And as I got to know Laura more and more, she taught me a lot of things about life, things I want to keep and implement into my own life.
Laura helped me to realize that the life I have imagined in my head can really come to fruition. It is real and can happen - if you make it happen. The key word is make. I used to think that some people were born lucky, born to have extraordinary lives. I always wanted that, but thought that it was not within my power to make that happen. But I have come to learn that I was wrong. Laura has shown me that amazing things happen to people because they go out and make them happen. They create their own luck, as it were. I have learned that I can no longer be passive in my pursuit of life, but that I need to be active and proactive in how I take on the events life has to offer. I have to seize the day, YOLO (you only live once), or FOMO (fear of missing out), however you would like to call it. The life that I have lived the past 7 or so months has been one I have always dreamed of. It has been more fun that I honestly could have ever hoped for. I have found a friend who views life the same way I do. And that makes a big difference. I mean, Laura is fun by herself, but honestly, when I am there with her, I think that we are even more fun together.
Laura has shown and taught me the importance of being confident, but not overconfident, in oneself. This is something that I have always struggled with in my own life. I have always found it hard to accept myself for who I am. But, I look at the way she sees herself. She doesn't boast or brag of things she does, and often she will never mention something great that she has done. Yet, she believes in herself and in her own abilities.
She has taught me the importance of not judging others. Since we have hung out, there have been a million ideas tossed out that many people would say are silly, stupid, or dumb, but we have never once judged each other for our ideas. And because of that, you feel loved and respected by those around you. You don't have to feel like you need to always please them because you know they will be happy with whatever you say or do. She has not only accepted me for my quarks and strange behavior, but she loves me for it. And that makes you feel really good about yourself.
She has taught me about he importance of saying yes to things. I think we have helped each other out in that, actually. We have talked about how we feel bad for so many people who say no to ideas or opportunities for no good reason. They are missing out on so much of life! They are missing a lot of they joy that comes from the details and experiences that life has to offer, if only you will go out and grab them. Whenever one of us throws out an idea for something to do, we say yes, and because of that we have so many memories and good times together.
Laura has taught me how important it is to make others feel loved and needed. This is a gift that Laura definitely has. People love her because she loves them. And it feels good to be loved by somebody.
Laura has a real testimony. She is always the first to want to go to firesides, church, the temple, etc. She knows what she wants and she knows how important the gospel is to her life. She is a great example to me of what a member of the church should be like.
Honestly, I will really miss Laura. I have never had a friend like her. She helped bring out the best in me and helped me want to get better. I have never had so much fun with one person. She has made me louder and more outgoing. I will be sad to see her leave, and I hope that one day I will get to see her again, and that our friendship will be as strong and bright as it is now.
So long...
No comments:
Post a Comment