Kayla: Introductions

For a long time, I believed that I could survive in this world without girlfriends. 

I have two amazing sisters that have always been there to talk about boys, life, and our parents.

I have two amazing parents that have always been there to talk about boys, life, and my sisters. 

And all through growing up I’ve always had a crew of funny, energetic, easy to talk to guy friends that I didn’t have to worry about hurting their feelings or getting caught up in silly drama (a habit I tended to frequent with the females in my life). 

I made it to age 22 having never experienced the techno colored joy that can only be brought into your life by true girlfriends.  The first person to tip my balance was Kayla<3. 

Kayla and I had known of each other’s existence for many years before we actually became friends.  We attended the same high school, I was a year ahead of her, and we never spoke to each other.  We walked around the halls of our school avoiding each other at all costs.  It wasn’t until we attended a college Halloween party together that I realized I had wasted a lot of time not spending it getting to know her, and I was sure that I wanted us to be “the kaylas” for the rest of my life. From the very beginning, she has been someone that I can tell anything about myself without the fear of being judged.  She is my trusty sidekick, and I am hers; always there for each other in a pinch, or no pinch at all.  Her witty banter has me laughing for days and her inner strength is something to be witnessed.  I have been through more with her than I have with anyone else.  We were meant to be; two kaylas in a pod. 

College also did me the solid of bringing me another soul mate, Sara Dee.   Sara and I realized we were MFEO during an exercise in our Communications class where you had to introduce one of your peers.  Sara and I paired up.  Everything that one of us said about ourselves the others response was “ME TOO!” We are both the middles of three girls, love to play games, enjoy volunteering, and are obsessed with corny humor.  I remember going home after that class and wondering how I could get Sara’s phone number and ease into a relationship – I felt nervous about it like a high school crush – but when you know  you know. It wasn’t long until we were inseparable.  Sara is a cheeseball.  She is an optimist to the core.  She volunteers more of her time than anyone I’ve ever met.  I think her mission in life is to make everyone happy, all of the time – a seemingly impossible task - but she is impressively good at it.  She is one of the very few adults I know that still has child-like wonder for the simplest of things.  She inspires me. 

Bryniee is my oldest friend. We were introduced to each other at a young age, because our parents believed that it was fate.  Both of our dads worked (and currently still work) at the same water treatment facility, and both of our mothers worked at the Holiday Inn.  During workday chats, they realized the connection and that they both birthed daughters in 1985; it would be going against our destiny if we never met – and still to this day I believe they were right. Bryniee and I lived across town from each other and got most of our hanging out in over the summer months.  We’d spend weeks at the others house trying to win the Hot 9 at 9, chasing boys and feeling like we owned Windber Rec.  As we grew older and became more involved in High School, we’d only hear from each other on birthdays and holidays.  A few years ago fate stepped in and brought Bryniee back to me.  I was still working on my undergrad at UPJ and she came back to get her Masters.  I’m not letting her out of my sight this time.  Bryn is a teacher and it courses through her veins.  She has such elegance about explaining things to people that you can’t help but be memorized and while she is hypnotizing you, you osmosisly absorb what she is saying.  When I need her, she is there, with a bottle of wine in hand ready to tackle my demons with me.  She is a DIVA; part of her charm is that you can’t help but want to take care of her.  She is my listening ear and my little queenie. 

Without these ladies I would be a mess.  They are who I turn to for advice, gossip, adventures, laughs, and comfort.  When we don’t get to see each other for awhile, I can feel their absence physically.  I need my gal time; my time to unwind, with a bottle of wine, and catch up on all of their busy lives.  This blog will hopefully serve its purpose of keeping us connected despite the two hours of distance between us.  This quote always reminds me of the bond I share with my girls:

Sara: The Introductions

Wow. First blog. No pressure. Hey all; my name is Sara and my three best friends and I will be the authors of this blog to share the little bit of craziness/happiness /creativeness/opionatedness that we all have to offer from our small corner of the world. I thought that a good way for each of us to write our first posts would be to take some space introducing each other to you, as opposed to each introducing ourselves. Hopefully this will give any blog readers we might have someday the best possible idea of who we are, and what we mean to each other... So here goes:

Kayla: I decided to start with her because I wouldn't know any of the others if it weren't for her. I first met Kayla my Sophomore year of college. One day in a shared class, fate threw us together and we got the chance to finally meet. We were the same person. Seriously. Our families sounded like twilight zone clones of one another, they were so similar. We are both middles (nuff said) of families with three daughters. Our parents were both high school sweethearts and still in love. We had too many strange family traditions and quirks to name... From there it was only a matter of time before we became friends outside of school, and she has been one of my best friends ever since. This is why: (and yes, I'm gonna do the cheesy acrostic thing...do something about it.)

 Kind; Kayla is seriously one of the kindest people I have ever met. She is always planning charity events, reaching out to people who are hurting, and is unconditionally forgiving. I feel like just by knowing her, I am a better person for it--and the same goes for anyone else who has the chance to be her friend; you won't be sorry. Animated; Seriously, this girl makes facial expression that Disney couldn't recreate. She wears her emotions where everyone can see them and is there when you  need someone to jump up and down with excitement with, when you need someone to share your sadness, or when you need a good-warm-your-heart-feel-good-laugh. Youthful; She's one of those friends that can help see you through the most serious painful things, and still make you feel like a kid again afterwards with her jokes, stories and refreshingly optimistic outlook on life.  Likeable; Kayla is one of those rare people who can instantly charm ANYONE. Boys are charmed by her beauty, girls are charmed by how accepting and non-judgemental she is, kids love her beacuse she's crazy-fun, heck even the pizza girl who called because she was lost last weekend wanted to be her friend by the time she hung. I think most people like her because of her confidence, her intelligence, and just how plain hilarious she is.  Adventurous; She is so outgoing and always meeting new people and friends. If she gets the chance to do something fun, or new she grabs it and enjoys it for all it is worth. She is truly a free-spirit and her "lifeisgood" attitude is contagious. I went to Vegas with girl and we had the adventure of a twenty-something-girl's life. She just came back from Turkey for goodness sakes, not to mention she is a veteran of the National Guard and served overseas in Kosovo! Incredible right?!       

 Approximately half of us are named Kayla... I will try to keep it as unconfusing as possible by referring to one of the Kaylas as K2 (this is a self proclaimed nickname decided on long ago by both Kayla's together!)

K2: We became friends after being introduced to one another by Kayla. From the first night I met her at the Crowsnest I knew that there was something really special about her and that I wanted to be her friend. Even though I was an "outsider" to their group of friends, she welcomed me in right away and it wasn't long before I considered her a friend of my own. She is fun, and brimming with personality and cynicism. There is never a dull moment with her, and rarely ones that aren't being filled with laughter either. She tells it like it is and doesn't apologize for her beliefs or who she is.

Kindred; I really feel like Kayla is a kindred spirit of mine. We share many viewpoints about the sticky subjects people usually avoid i.e.politics, religion, civil rights. I feel like I can always share my opinion with Kayla about things like this without being judged and I know we'll have an amazing Knowledgeable (seriously she's so smart and knows a little bit of something about everything!) conversation about it. (i.e. when I told her I wanted to become a witch --haven't decided if this is a half joke or not yet--she smiled and said, "cool") Admirable; There are a lot of things that I admire about Kayla...allow me to list them: How assertive she is, how she choses to and tries her best to stay positive even when she feels like the world's against her, she's so funny and witty all of the time, how Adventurous she is with her sense of style, her confidence and poise, what a good mother she is to her little weiner dog Benson... I could seriously go on forever. Yadda Yadda; No I don't mean she talks too much, in fact I mean the opposite (Come on... Y's are tough!) Kayla is always to the point, with no fluff about it. If she doesn't like something, she doesn't beat around the bush--she will out right tell you. She is honest and unfront about the things that are important to her. No yadda yadda from this girl. Everything she says, she means and everything she means, she sticks to. Loving/Loveable; Everytime I see Kayla, I know that I've been missed. She gives such good hugs that only girlfriends know how, and is always full of compliments and..well... love. I can tell that we all mean a lot to her and it means so much to be able to tell that I'm loved back everytime I see her. American; Kayla is from America. (hah) Actually the adjective I want to use here is Adaptable; See the girl in this photo collage who doesn't look the same in any of them? That's k2. She has had more hair styles, and styles in general, since I have met her than anyone I know has in their lifetime. She's rocked anything from long brown locks and a platinum pixie cut, to an edgy-angeled bob. She is a fashion chamelion and I love that I never know what to expect from her.

 Bryn: I also met Bryn through Kayla and my life has never been the same since--in the best possible way. Both Kaylas have recently moved away, and because Bryn and I are the only ones left in town I get to see her a whole lot more often than the others, so I've gotten to know her better this past year than I did before. We call Bryn the "diva" of our group. She loves attention, having fun, and and is uber smart. I always have a good time with Bryn whether we're out at the bars or sitting at home with a glass of wine contemplating life.

Brave; I consider Bryn to be almost fearless. When I first met her she was about to travel halfway across the country to New Zealand to student teach for 7 months. On more than one occassion she has mentioned just picking up and movng across the country to work at a vineyard. She is so free-spirited and always looking to have fun. She is brave, in that, no matter what life has thrown at her, she's stared it back in the face and said 'Is that all you got?" (in true diva fashion) Reliable; Bryn can always be counted on to make me feel better about life, to cry with me, to offer a bottle of wine, or to offer brilliant advice. She is so logical and wise beyond her years, and I know that no matter what comes along, she will be there with me (any of us) to work it out. You bet your ass she has your back; Having Bryn as a friend means always having someone to take your side. She's one of those girls you want on your side. She has been ready to throw down for me on more than one occassion and I absolutely love that about her. Once when a stuck-up girl at the bar gave me attitude, Bryn who was on the phone--but watching anyways--blurts out "Ima little distracted right now... Ima call you back." Natural; Of all of us Bryn wear's the least make up. Her taste is classy and simple, and she reinvents the whole bohemian vibe with so much sophistication of her own. She loves the simple, natural things in life-- like a good glass of wine. "Embrace messy hair," is one of her favorite mottos.

Moral of the Story?--I have the best friends.