That Never Crossed My Mind

           

             Yesterday the focus was on my family. Today the focus is on my friends. My friends have been one of the biggest supports through this journey. My friends were really the first line of defense when things started getting bad. They were the ones I told first and the first people to start fielding all of the text messages the revealed how bad things really were for me. They are the ones that took the risks to tell people and get me the help I needed.  Many of them started talking and going to people when they were unsure of what to do. They are the ones that started to go to parents and people who could start to do more to get me the help I needed, and through all of that help they continued to stand by my side each step of the way. They supported me and on many occasions helped me to develop a set of coping skills. When I returned to school after my two weeks of being hospitalized they were the ones that helped me fall back into a routine, kept me from continuing bad habits, and were always willing to listen when ever I needed to meet someone in the bathroom or band room. They were there and still are. Even now on my bad days they are the ones that pick up the phone when it rings (along with my family too of course) and answer the texts. And normally I come out of the conversation feeling much better about things. 

             Over these past few days as you know I have been working on writing out my journey for my presentation on November 12th. Of course through the writing process I have had many emotions and memories pop up and on many occasions I have text or talked to the people that were most involved at the time. On Tuesday night I was talking to two of these amazing friends. I said to one of them, "I'm sure there were nights you thought we would never get here." Her response however astounded me she simply replied "That never crossed my mind. I knew we would all be okay".  My honest response to that was " Really!?!?" to which she replied "Yea, I had faith in you, and faith that God had it under control even when we felt discouraged" Now let me tell you this is why even after all of the pain and things we went through together  we are still friends. We have come out stronger because of this and we all know nothing can break the bond we have created. Friendship is one of the greatest gifts there is. I know for me I have been blessed with not only an amazing family like I shared with you yesterday but friends that stand by me, support me, and love me for who I am. Good or bad. 

             Through all of the craziness of our journeys together there have been a great deal of incredible memories created. Today's inspirational challenge for a beautiful life asked me to share fun things I do with my friends. Once again just like with my family this is a brief list of the many things that could be listed. I have paired pictures with the list again as well.  I hope you enjoy and can see all of the love that is shared between these amazing people who have helped me to grow and find who 'me' really is. 

Tye Dying and crafts together .

Marching Band- Most of my friends especially in high school were connected to the band program in one way or another. 

Travel- This is a picture in Prague at the Lennon Wall 

Prague Picture Again 

Go to the beach!! 

I had to include this picture because it is one of my favorite pictures ever. It describes our personalities so well

Have sentimental we graduated and who knows where life is going to take us moments at the beach. 

ride around in motorized carts when you hurt yourself while friends laugh at you because they love you that much. 

Pack your rooms together, even if there is no room and someone has to sit in a box (And some of my friends like to hide clothes from me) 

Paint Nights 

Perform and play music together

Try on ridiculous PJ's and then actually buy them

Ride dumbo together at Disney World. 

Go on Missions Trips together. 

Earn your Silver and Gold Awards in Girl Scouts together. 

Go to Dances together

Make Food together

Perform and wear the same dress together. 

Seat Belt their stuffed animals into cars to go with them. 

Clean off your snowy cars together and get them stuck and unstuck in the snow. 

Go shopping together and try on the same thing, no matter how ridiculous you look in it. 

Make yourself green with face masks and have a girls night together. 

Come up with creative ways to make things work and hang things in dorm rooms. 

Eat your weight in Ice Cream together. 

Bake together: Correction watch your best friend do all of the baking so the kitchen doesn't start on fire. 

Lesson plan and try science experiments on each other. 

Go on 'field trips' together to explore the world. 

Have a winter PJ's party. 

Create skits and do silly things together. 

Drink wine together. 

Make ginger bread houses together. 

Eat the yummy dinner your friends made (like I said above kitchens are a bad place for me) 

Eat a whole box of chocolate covered strawberries together while drinking wine and watching chick flicks. 

We stick together no matter what and we believe in each other. 

I hope you enjoyed a small trip down memory lane. Tomorrow there will be another update on the challenge as well as where I am in the process of sharing my story. I look forward to sharing and I hope you have a great Thursday!