Friends

This past year has been one to remember and it's really the people who have made it so great. I've learned that friends are a necessity and without them in your life, well it might be boring. When I joke that strangers are friends we've never met, I'm not fully kidding. I think there's lots of truth in meeting new people and becoming friends. Friends more than just the craze of "becoming officially friends" once you're friends on facebook.  I haven't seen a lot of my friends in a year, but that doesn't mean that anything has changed. Between the snapchats, facebook posts, skype and viber calls, and letters I feel connected and not forgotten.  I do have friends around the world and I'm forever grateful for those connections. I'm fortunate to have friends from all parts of my life-from Coke Scholars I haven't seen in 3 years to roommates at DU I am happy you're all in my life.
   Since I have lots of time on train rides to write and think I'd thought I'd just mention some of the people who have contributed to this last year of experiences and introduce you to some awesome people who I call my friends.

Susie-training for her first marathon,hiking across Switzerland this summer,stellar lax player&coach
Annie-graduating early this summer,avid golf& Spartans fan,napper extraordinaire and karaoke singer
Allison B.-most likely to survive in the wilderness, runner and hiker of world's tallest peaks
Katrin-looking to qualify for the Boston Marathon, lover of popcorn,studied abroad in Beijing
Hannah E.-outdoor enthusiast, smile that lights up a room, never complains
Ali-has the biggest sweet tooth I know, smart and athletic and nice
Megan-great visitor anytime you want to procrastinate, coolest caddie, always willing to get treats
Brittney- life could be a movie, always has a new story to share, great listener, dependable friend
Sam- friend who knows how to make you feel like you're the coolest person in the room
Rachel-most photogenic and has the most pictures on facebook(4473), everyone wants to be around
Garret-will always be a child at heart, can count on you to always make people laugh
Mur- best road trip partner, never afraid to dance, little dynamite on the lacrosse field
Allyson- rock climber and biology major, better than most guys at sports video games
Ana-wildest red head but incredibly dependable, friend who knows how to take adventures
Kiki- All American girl who will be the nicest dentist you've ever met
Megan- leader and follower, always follows through, cares about everyone
 Brandan- always has something funny to share, will be a wealthy family man, loves the go pro
Laura-artist and business lady making stationary, runner of half marathons across the country
Cassie- a heart that's bigger than she is tall, loves rollerblading and driving Chester

Irene-engineer+backpacker+sorority girl=all around great person

Rylie- phenomenal cook, chocolate lover, zumba dancer, prettiest smile
Angie- coolest ski bum, never afraid to try something new, loves trivia nights
Tiffany- married but still always finds time to get ice cream, always doing something funny
Allison-graduating soon and already has a job lined up, drives a manual car, hard worker
Zoe-always tackling something new, volunteers with the cutest old people, headed to Africa
Christian-currently in Taiwan, will solve a world problem some day, master of all trades
Steph-one of the best college women's soccer players, studies hard and will one day be a lawyer
Stacey-will be the nicest and prettiest nurse you've ever met, always kind, runs a lot
Miranda-makes the funniest faces, college soccer player, wife, skier
Kenna-will save lots of lives as a doctor, good at every sport she tries
Jasmine- currently in Ukraine, dependable and caring and happy to be who she is
Sarah- beautiful ballerina, fun friend who remembers everything

Jen-smarty pants, heading to grad school in the fall, climbed a volcano with mono
Kelly-little bundle of energy, runner and moving west this summer to pursue her dreams
Meghan-loves Starbucks and bagels, wants to join the Peace Corp, always full of stories

Julie-loves gelato and chocolate, someone everyone can count on anytime anywhere
Jamee- incredibly kind, always up for an adventure, a smile and laugh to make you happy
Michelle- so funny at all times of the day,has a wide range of music on her itunes making her a great DJ
Connor- studies a ton but it pays off, knows how to make people feel important and always means well
Yesenia- dependable and friends with everyone, hard working and determined, happy forever
April- kind and helpful, cares way more about others than herself

 I wish everyone had the privilege of meeting each and every one of you!  The list could go on and on and in my mind it does. But in the end I'm so happy for the experiences I've gotten to share with so many different people all around the world. There's the saying that friends are family you can choose and how great is it when you find those friends that become family?

"Friends are hard to find. In a lifetime you get only a few. And when you find them

you always know them by sight and heart alone, you always

grow a little bit taller in your soul, and you know

you have been blessed just to know them."