If the mountain won't come to Muhammad...

It turns out that 3,000 miles isn't enough to keep me away.  Of course, a 3-day-only special on Southwest Airline tickets sealed the deal, but hey, I'm not being picky about how the universe works in my favor.  It's a long way off, but come September 15th, I'll be dragging my sleepy ass to LaGuardia for a 6 AM flight to see someone who lights up my life

She's been there through it all.  Our friendship sprang from a shared dislike for a fellow first-year: while all the upperclasswomen were moving in, a sophomore was giving away a queen-sized bed and asked if any of us younguns' wanted it.  She and I, friends for barely two days, sprang into action.  "WE'LL TAKE IT!!" we yelled, just as this other girl was opening her mouth to accept said bed.  Okay, okay, so maybe that was mean of us.  But we - two poor kids on full scholarships - definitely needed that bed more than the girl who had shown up to Smith with a 12x12 foot beach poster from Urban Outfitters and a sheet/comforter set from Ralph Lauren did.  (I looked online.  The poster cost $300.)  It marked the beginning of four years of friendship - splayed across her queen-sized bed and my king-sized one (her twin and my twin pushed together and covered in memory foam and mattress covers).

She managed to stay straight through four years of Smith (no small feat).  But she'd still give me frequent kisses, especially under mistletoe, regardless of my relationship status.  (It's one of the many things that non-Smithies will never understand...how do a bunch of friends become so incestuous?)

We spruced ourselves up for this momentous occasion - commencement!

And then we celebrated four of the toughest, best, most heart-breaking, back-breaking, growing-up years of our young lives by...jumping off a cliff.

(Seriously, I'd highly recommend it for stress relief.  Something about plummeting to your possible death will make all your other worries seem far less significant.)

And now (well, in September anyway), I finally, finally get to see her again.  It's been more than a year and I miss her so much.  California, I'm coming to you.  Get ready.