It's been almost two weeks since my return to Northwest Ohio. Leaving Indiana is always difficult, but more so this year than others. This year surprised me in countless ways, but mostly the department of unexpected friendships. For starters, the Lord sure knew what he was doing when Shea Farmer and I became roommates. I could not imagine a more hilarious, down to earth, beautiful, talented, and rooted in Christ friend.
It would be impossible to describe the friendship we've been blessed with, but she is one of the best friends a girl could ask for. I am thankful for the ways she challenged me, supported me through difficult circumstances, and played (and lost) countless 1-10's providing laughs for everyone involved.
She was always a good sport though :)
Shea introduced me to Nicole at the beginning of the year, and the friendship that developed between the three of us is about as close to sisters as you could get. I think back to the beginning of Spring semester when Shea and Nicole came to my house in Ohio. It was so great to spend time with my mom and visit Kaite.
Somewhere between late night conversations in room 208, making fun of JustGirlyThings, driving through the night just to get a donut, looking up pictures of all of Taylor Swift's ex-boyfriends, and laying on the roof of the dugout during the Finals Scream, we became family.
Some other unexpected friendships included this incredible group of girls I got to serve with in Kem Hall.
The end of the year was filled with packing, cleaning, and organizing, yes...but it was also filled with solidifying these incredible friendships. These girls were such a great support system to me this year. They are such unique, caring, and invested women and I have learned so much from each one of them. It is exciting to know that they will all be back on campus next year!
A few other tough goodbyes:
- It was so strange to not graduate with Spencer. We've been together through pretty much every step of life thus far. He's still one of my best friends and I am so thankful for him!
- Jesse...the bow tie and suspenders say it all. He can be such a brat but I love him at the same time. He has been such a great friend to me.
- The campus of IWU will be much quieter without Joshua Peters. I will miss him and our late night cruises listening to Ke$ha.
My last goodbye of the year was with Randi. I watched Randi walk through the 3rd floor hallway of Eastside two years ago down to her very first dorm room. I had the incredible privilege of being her RA and could see leadership qualities in her so early on. Working on the same staff with her this year was wonderful, and living with her was even better! Her friendship is a constant that I am very thankful for. Living with her next year will make for three years together, and I could not be more excited.
The night before we left school, we decided to stay up all night. This was mainly because we hadn't cleaned anything and we still had half our room to pack. I also think there was also a small part of us that wasn't ready to say goodbye yet. We took our time packing, managed to spook our brother staff with some squirt guns, and went out to the dugout roof one last time. We talked for hours that night. When our room was finally empty, we pulled our mattresses into the living room for one last sleepover.
I drove away from campus on Wednesday with Chuck Bass (my fish) in the cup holder and my yellow car tightly packed full of bedding, textbooks, and tons of memories. I'm still working on unpacking the memories, but I'm getting there.
xo,
Katie
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