let me tell you a little about my best friend.

as the days go by, faster now than before, i'm starting to set it....
i only have 6 days left with my best friend.
my roommate, my parter in crime, my comforter, my hug giving addict, my cottage cheese eater, my mom away from home, my companion, my class mate, my movie partner, my back up in a fight, my favorite person to argue with, my favorite person to agree with, my "twin", my heavy lifter, my advisor, my sanity.
my best friend
Ol.
i feel like i should explain the name before i go on, to keep from any confusion.
the first night we met i said her name. Olivia.
i quickly decided that was too long and we should shorten it. Ol just kinda stuck.
i've met alot of people. i can honestly say i don't usually have a problem talking/befriending people i've never met. but i have never... NEVER become friends with someone as quickly as i did with Ol.
we just hit it off.
we were suit mates at first. we both had other room mates and lived on the other side of the bathroom from each other. every night for the first week of our freshman year of college, i would go into Ol's room and sit on her bed. by the middle of the week, she started to expect me and would just scoot over when she saw me walk in. we would just sit and talk.
about anything and everything.
i knew then.
i knew i had just met an amazing person.
my best friend.
that was in the beginning of september.
as time went on, we got closer and closer.
we were going on "adventures" around nashville all the time...ok actually... we were just getting lost around nasvhille...but it's all the same really.
the walking bridge, the strip on broadway, the fountains, centenial park, love mountain, cafe coco, dragon park...our spots. every time we go out we go to at least one of these places.
memories. i have so many great memories at these places...but as i think of them...every single one of them...i'm there with Ol.
side by side.
laughing the whole time.
yes, we have had some pretty great laughs.
but, laughing isn't all we do. we know we have to mix it up.
we cry too.
ok it's not really a "we" that cries...it's more of a "jamie cries, Ol listens" arrangement we've worked out.  since we met, we've been through all the emotions. though i will always treasure memories of laughing until we couldn't breathe, i will also treasure the many.... MANY tears shed.
Ol always knows what to say and when to say it. things have been pretty hard at times this year, but Ol has always been there to lean on and cry. even times when she knows i don't want to cry, she gives one of her famous "here's the thing" speeches and has me in tears almost instantly.  i'm beginning to think she does it on purpose.
i would love to sit and write about all of the great memories i've had with Ol....but i'd be here all night.
memories i will never forget as long as i live.
memories with my best friend.
in a few days, we'll go our separate ways.
she's going home for the summer then attending a school close to her house in the fall. (sorry Ol, i can't remember what it's called). all summer we'll be about three hours away...and in the fall we'll be about seven hours away from each other.
not. ok.
but i know we'll be ok.
i know we can do it.

we're best friends.
it's gonna stink. it's gonna stink BAD.
i am going to miss her SOOOO much.
i've gotten used to Ol being the first person i talk to when i wake up, and the last person i talk to before falling  asleep at night.
to meeting her in the lobby of the caf after class so we don't have to walk in to lunch alone.
to her fussing at me for brushing my hair and shedding everywhere.
to her check list as we walk out the door every morning, because she knows how often i forget things...
"wallet, keys, phone?"
to hearing her yell at people for being loud while i take a nap.
to eating dinner everyday together at 5...on the dot.
to that "look" when she thinks i'm making a bad decision.
to sitting beside each other, like we are right now, not having to say a word. just watching tv together.
me and my best friend.
i'll miss all of it and more.
but i know how blessed i am to have met such an amazing person as Ol.
i have changed so much.
for the better.
because of Ol.
my best friend.
I love you, Ol. Though we fight and yell and kick and scream and fuss and fight.
i mean come on... you're
my best friend.

no, DON'T keep holding on.

something has hit me.

in the face really.

friends are great. best friends are awesome.

but we, as human beings, have quite a few different seasons in our life.

friends are there for those seasons.

but as times changes... needs change, views change, wants change, habits change...

and friends change.

i have had some really great friends be there for me in times when i know i would not have been able to keep standing if they weren't there. and for a while, i thought we would be that way forever.

but that's not how it is. 

my needs changed. their needs changed.

we changed.

now, we are still friends, and always will be. but never the same.

it's not a bad thing

if not for that friend and those times we had, i wouldn't have the close friends i have now. 

don't drop all of your friends and make new ones. hold on to them as friends. we all need friends...and usually lots of them. but pick and choose the really close ones wisely. 

but take this really hard lesson from me.

don't hold on so tight. loosen your grip.

let the ones go that need to go...

make room for the ones that need to be there now.

i'd like a chimichanga, please.

food in america. 

i. don't. get. it. 

mexican food here....doesn't taste anything like food in mexico.

intalian food here....doesn't taste anything like food in italy. 

chinese food here....doesn't taste anything like food in china.

you get the idea.

so what does american food taste like there? is it legit? 

wait...what exactly is "legit" american food?

sigh. the things that plague my mind while i try to do my homework. 

<3

what about Shamu?

i went to my friend's house today.
we grew up together. i was always at his house.
sitting on the back of the toilet in the bathroom is this noah's ark figurine. it's been there forever.
as i went in there today, i remembered going in there when we were little and looking at that thing in amazement.
it's noah's ark on top of a huge wave with two whales coming up out of the water beside it.
i always wondered, and still do....
did they leave the whales out???
 poor whales....all alone...in the water....for 40 days.
if the whales got left out, did all of the fish? did they all survive or just a pair of them like every other animal?
just somethin i've been thinking about for years.
that's all.
<3

love is blind.

i am continually amazed at people.
and even more amazed at myself and my ridiculous views on things.
i used to think that you had to "look the part" to be that good Christian everyone wanted.
no, your hair can't be long.
no, you can't have more than two piercings, and those have to be your ears!
no, you can't have radical colors in your hair, and definitely not black!
no, you can't have any tattoos.
yes, you have to stand still and look straight ahead while worshiping.
yes, you have to dress in your "Sunday best" to go to church, or your not legit.
yes, you have to pray in public, and the prayer must be at least 10.34 minutes long..
i don't think i have ever been so wrong in my life.
if i have learned nothing else while here at Trevecca it's that there is no specific "look" for a Christian.
that's crazy!
i have met some of the most on fire, legit, crazy about God people here. and become best friends with them.
and guess what?!?
they. worship. too.
with their long hair, tattoos, radical hair styles, piercings, and crazy outfits.
all of it.
they worship. and they mean it. and they show it.
you can see the love for Him in their eyes. and i love it.
so, bump all those stereotypes.
they're stupid.
go worship with some friends, even the crazy ones.
<3

TNT...yes, they named it after a bomb for a reason.

there are over 2,000 teenagers on campus this weekend.

at first i was scared...i mean, come on.

they're loud

smelly

obnoxious

too easily excited

unruly

confusing

and messy.

but wait,i just described myself too...

so, LET'S HAVE SOME FUN!!!

i'm gonna go hang out with some teenagers.

don't grow up too fast. smile, laugh, and enjoy life.

it's what were made for.

Pa Gen Mal (It Is Well)

i just got back from one of the best trips of my life.

i am in Gospel Choir at school and we went on tour to Orlando, Florida. why Orlando? Universal Studios of course!! no really, we went to sing at some Haitian churches down there. The plan was to do a concert Saturday night, sing at some churches Sunday morning, and some different churches on Sunday night.

can i just say - OH. MY. GOODNESS.

honestly, i wasn't too excited about the Haitian churches. i thought it would just be some really boring church services in a language i couldn't understand.

i have never been so wrong.

early Sunday morning we split our 80 person choir into two different groups and set out to our assigned churches.

at our first church, we had only planned on singing a few songs because they were having their regular service in addition to our songs. before things got started we got up on the stage to practice. we went through our first few songs without so much as a clap or sway from the crowd (which was totally ok, because we were only practicing). but then, we started to sing "It Is Well". we have learned that and "Great Is Thy Faithfulness" in Creole French for this very trip. we were so excited to be able to sing a song in their native language.

as the first verse began, the look on their faces were priceless. slowly, one by one, they began to notice what we were saying. they began to smile and pay much more attention than before.

as we all joined in on the chorus, they too joined in.

there we were, a group of kids from a school in nashville, tn singing praises to our King in unison with the Haitian community. they were so happy!!!

they were smiling, and swaying and singing along.

and the tears, the tears that flowed. from their eyes and ours.

it was incredible. i was so touched. and from the reaction of the rest of our group, i wasn't the only one.

after that, we went and sat down and waited for our turn to perform. we got to sing along their congregational hymns while we waited.

standing there in that sanctuary was something i will never forget.

we were singing "How Great Thou Art"...but it wasn't like what i am, or most of the people in that choir are used to.

they were singing in French and we were singing in English. but the sound of all of us worshiping together rose in such a way....i can't even describe it.

it was INCREDIBLE.

a few hours later, we were loading the bus and all i could think was, "no. don't make me leave. i'm not ready to go yet!!"

it was so great.

so i wasn't expecting much out of our trip. i was expecting to go sing what i had to sing just to get through and then get to spend a free day at the beach.

but i got so much more. i was touched and blessed in a way i could never have imagined. i share an amazing God with some pretty awesome Haitians down in Orlando.

you should go see them some time.

they'd be happy to sing with you.

<3