the family you choose.

it's sad when people you know become people you knew.
when you can walk right past someone like they were never a big part of your life.
when best friends are no longer even acquaintances.
you used to talk to them for hours and hours a day, easily, without even thinking about it, and now you can barely even look at them.

it happens all the time.
and so today, even though i don't treat them as well as i should sometimes,
i'm showing how grateful i am for my friends.

for melia, who's become my college sister. we have so much in common. it's a relief to find someone at school who loves all the things i do & who is so like me. she's quickly becoming one of my best friends & i know god brought us together for a reason.
for scott, who has become one of my closest friends in the last few weeks. we're cousins and i've known him for my entire life, but he's constantly teaching me things and has shown me that cousins can be so much more than just relatives, they can be confidants and friends.
for wendy, who is the best roommate i could ever ask for. she puts up with so much of my crap and still loves me. i owe her forever. i couldn't make it through this semester without her.
for timmy, who i can talk to when i feel homesick. he always knows how what to say to make me feel better & is such an example to me. he just got his mission call to ghana and i couldn't be more proud of him. i know he will do amazing things there.
for summer, who is always there to comfort me when things start to go bad & to keep me up on the drama at good ol' eagle high school. she probably knows me better than anyone on earth except my mom and she was there for me in the darkest hours of my life. i couldn't live without her.
for clara, who keeps me laughing and on my toes. i love our late night conversations about nothing. sometimes she's crazy and out of control, but that's why i love her so much. i know i can talk to her about anything and she can just take it in stride. even though she goes to byu, i still love her to death.
for kathy, who has done so much for me in the last five years. i would not be where i am today, or the person i am today if it wasn't for her. she is the best friend i've ever had in my entire life. we live far away from each other but it doesn't matter because i know she's always there when i need her or when she needs me. she has taught me so much about perseverance when things get unbearably hard and i will always be grateful for the influence she's had on me and my family.

also for landon, jake, jayden, ciah, storm, chas & brennan.
there are countless more and i love each of you forever.

xoxo
jess :)