Happy birthday, dear one.

Dearest Readers,

October 9th is my sweet friend's birthday. October 9th is today. You should all eat some cake and play happy music and decorate your house with streamers because life is short and you should eat as much cake as possible but also because today is the day Becca was born and that is SUCH a huge thing to celebrate!

She encouraged young, awkward Claire when I joined a sign language choir and she was my first leader. (Even when I signed "hope" with both hands on opposite sides of my head...:))

She encouraged me again when I moved into a leadership role in the choir.

And she encouraged me again when I moved on from the sweet group.

She was always the first one to call when my brothers were hospitalized.

She comforted me when I visited her in the hospital because she knew I was worried.

She didn't think it was weird to play 50's music all afternoon and make french fries and milkshakes.

She drank said milkshakes with a smile even though they were basically just chocolate milk.

She didn't mind when I bought the same shoes she had because I liked them.

Or when I made her go buy some shoes to match mine.

She took me to Disneyland. Twice.

She made me laugh when I tried to tell her we were moving and couldn't get the words out because I was trying not to cry.

She let me invite myself to her house all the time....

Especially the last week we were in Arizona when I was at her house almost everyday. Even then it wasn't enough time. One of those days (actually two because our {precious} videographer may or may not have filmed it crooked the first time...haha) we made a video signing For Good from Wicked. You can watch it here.
It was the perfect way to wrap up six wonderful years together in Arizona. The words are everything I would have said if I was as eloquent as Stephen Schwartz!


It well may be that we will never meet again in this lifetime, so let me say before we part; so much of me is made of what I learned from you; you'll be with me, like a handprint on my heart. And now whatever way our stories end; I know you have rewritten mine by being my friend.


Becca, Happy 23 years!  Thank you for being your wonderful self--you bless my heart. I am so, so thankful for you and for our years being within driving distance. I can't wait to cram enough memories for another scrapbook into my next visit. I love you to Arizona and back.

Always,
 Claire

Hey yeah, Welcome to the Real World...

Nobody told you it was gonna be hard...I barely started now I'm falling apart.

(If you don't recognize it, those brilliant lyrics were written by Rob Thomas and I'm convinced he wrote them for all college freshmen. Here's the video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UF8mo0dVbXo)

Hey there, sweet Readers,

I really don't have time to be writing this. But my laptop is sitting on top of my open algebra textbook so does it kind of count as studying?? Really, I was just having one of those nights when that song came on and I just had to laugh because it fits my life so perfectly right now.

But then a boom shake now I'm awake; I think it's over but it's everyday and it's a pretty fine mess I'm starting to make...I couldn't tell you I was never afraid.

College is beautiful. I have met some precious friends and made incredible memories already. It's also exhausting. I've embarrassed myself more times than I care to admit in front of those friends because Claire after 11:00 gets a little delirious. College is inspiring. I see so many upperclassmen and professors and even peers doing such incredible things with their lives. College is a lot harder than I thought it would be. The pressure I put on myself to make those lifelong friends everyone talks about and get good enough grades to get into OT school has my head spinning most days. College is lonely. I miss my family and Arizona and doing everything with my brothers. I have gone home every single week but it still isn't enough because home is so different now. College is fun. I rushed Swannanoa and am loving getting to know my sisters. I would give an arm AND a leg for a day where I could just sit on the couch and read a fiction book without having a rush event or homework, though.

Swannanoa's Coke Party!

Miss Trish came to Clinton for the Back to the Bricks festival
the first week of school! 

Our first Game Day! And we BOTH rushed ST!

It's a lot of things; a lot of normal things that every freshman ever has felt, but I just owed you a blog post and needed to write for a moment so here you have this. And for any high schoolers reading, let me just go ahead and tell you: this semi-real world is really, really, really, really hard so prepare now and start memorizing metabolic pathways and amino acid chains before you graduate.

One time I went home and they had alfajores for me :)

Your exhausted yet thankful blogger,
 Claire