A subtle thank you

It's days like today that I miss high school. Or rather the idea of high school. High school was so easy that it hardly necessitated studying or hours of homework. College on the other hand, college is about work. 

When I think back to high school, I think back to the days I spent with my three best friends. We would go get coffee at Caribou and find a seat in the narrow cafe lined with carved wooden seats that resembled logs. We would talk about our plans. Julia was obsessed with anything international. Kelsey was choosing between music and science. Ruth wasn't quite sure. I was of course going to be pre-med (ha). 

 After finals, during breaks, on Fridays, or just anytime we could find reason to celebrate, we would all meet up at Potbelly's Sandwiches and walk around the Commons. We loved going into Francesca's and snapping photos of ourselves in oddly-framed glasses. We also loved the dresses that always seemed to be slightly out of our budgets. 

Anytime someone had a birthday, which was February, May, and twice in September, we would go to Coldstone Creamery for icecream to accompany our cupcakes. 

 I remember Kelsey patiently teaching me how to knit, showing me how to make blankets, and ceaselessly repairing the broken strap on my favorite gypsy bag (which now has an un-repaired zipper). 

 Ruth and I would always celebrate the first day of spring. Of course it wasn't the official day or anything. It was just the first day you could really feel the warmth of the sun when the snow mounds began to melt. We could feel the end of winter was near. One year we went to Chipotle for burritos and to Hobby Lobby for paint and posterboard. We had a project in our History class over WW2 that required a presentation so we decided to paint the board in camouflage. It was decided that trench warfare smelt of "poop and licorice." We later met up with Kelsey at school for a fundraiser that would lower the cost of our choir trip to Disneyworld. The next year we got coffee, walked around town, got followed by geese, met up with Kelsey and went to the Scholastic Bowl/Chess Club banquet and celebration. We had pizza and went bowling. Then we may or may not have partaken in a cigarette, which at the time felt really cool.

 At Disneyworld, we all shared a room. We rejoiced over small things together. We discussed God. We learned a lot from one another. Julia would wake up, open the curtains, letting the sun in and say, "Hello world!" When a chocolate chip from her trail mix fell on the floor she regrettably decided that someone was going to think a bunny pooped next to her bed. We all got henna tattoos; Kelsey and Julia on their shoulders, Ruth on her wrist, me on my ankle. Sharing a bathroom with three other girls was not quite the crisis situation one would imagine. But then again, these aren't any ordinary girls. 

We all shared a traveling blue notebook which we named "The Notebook." We would all write in it about our lives and pass it on. It was a way to keep up with one another when times got busy. Along with the notebook, we passed around a heart necklace that we would wear when we had the notebook. A lot of people were curious about what we were writing about and would question: "WHAT is in that blue notebook?!" I'd always tell people that I could tell them but then I'd have to kill them.

When we had an AP English paper that required library research, we took it as an opportunity to get coffee, lunch, and to take photos of ourselves with Mark Twain's statue out front. And also we did a bit of research for our papers...

We all encompassed so much diversity but all saw the world through a similar lens. Julia was the quiet redhead that put in hours at the school newspaper. Kelsey was the blond science nerd that was also a Drum Major, choir president, and captain of the Scholastic Bowl Team. Ruth was sardonic with hair so dark it was almost black... she hated almost every subject in school and wanted to graduate so she could start doing something she actually liked. And I was the I was the busy brunette and Spanish nerd. Since 16, I was working at a grocery store almost every day after school and on weekends. The girls began to refer to my job as the "taker of my soul." Plans always had to be at my convenience... which I felt terrible about.

And even though we all wanted to get out of high school as fast as we could, I miss them. They helped me through a lot of sadness and helped me develop into the person I am today. I can never thank them enough.