Junior Year

Junior year was when I really got to know Katie. We spent four and a half months together in Australia on our study abroad trip. Again, two of the best things I ever did (one – going to Oz; two – convincing Katie to come, not that she needed much convincing). I met more amazing friends, saw some epic works of nature (seriously, the Great Barrier Reef up close – that is epic), and had wonderful experiences. I think this trip could have taken my friendship with Katie two ways. We could have got to the point we couldn’t stand each other and wanted apart. Or, what it did, and made us even closer. This is when she really became my best friend. We had fun, went on adventures, got lost (*coughChinatownBrisbaneat4amSundaycough*), and studied our butts off (okay, only in one class really). We laughed at each other – me at her when she got the slowest scooter ever and her at me when she did better on a paper after a bottle of wine than I did with two weeks prep. Without her there, I think I would have still had fun, but not nearly as much as I did. Who else would convince me to skip lab to go to the aquarium? Or to play video games in the back of Australian History class?

When we returned to school, I spent more time hanging out with her than ever before. Spring eventually turned to summer. Instead of returning home to work as usual, I went home for a week before flying back to take my General Studies Senior Capstone. Once again, Katie proved how amazing and loyal she was when I received some of the worst news of my life. I’m not going to type that all over again, I will start crying, but Katie had driven to North Carolina a few hours before and offered to turn around and drive back that night. She didn’t, but I was touched by the offer. She (and our other friend Tori) were there when she got back.

I don’t know what I would have done without them. (Or Holly and Kelly – they were amazing that summer too!)