Anna and I met back in 2021 while both working for the same company, and our friendship blossomed over a canvas I had hanging in the background of our FIRST Teams call together. Anna went out of her way to make me feel welcomed, which can be hard to do in a virtual setting, especially at a new job. From that day forward, we’ve talked EVERY single day, bonding over our love for animals, Mexican food, and Harry Potter. I joke with people meeting Anna for the first time, “If you like me, you’ll probably like Anna” just because of how many ~scary~ things we have in common. I share every boring detail of my life with her, and I have heard zero complaints in response. She has the most beautiful soul of anyone I’ve ever met (Jesse McCartney reference right there!) and I’m so lucky to be able to call her my best friend. If there’s anyone I can count on, it’s her (even from exactly 2,438 miles away).

Charlotte and I first met when my family and I traveled to Barbados to visit my oldest brother, Aaron. I didn’t know at the time that I would be meeting my future sister-in-law, and one of my favorite people to be around. In 2019, Charlotte officially became my sister, but it was in 2020 that we got to spend a LOT of time together. Charlotte also has a huge love for Harry Potter, making it easy for Jordan to include her and Aaron to be there to witness, and help capture, one of the best days of my life. It’s wonderful to have another Harry Potter nerd in the family, and we easily geeked out seeing Harry Potter & the Cursed Child on Broadway a few years ago. She was there to capture a huge moment in our lives, and now she’ll be standing by my side as we step into a new chapter!

Chrissy officially joined the family in 2017 when she married my brother, Jake, but I remember one of the first times I met Chrissy was during a weekend trip to visit Jake at college. She and her friends made me feel so welcome, even though they were the “cooler older kids.” I’m so lucky to be able to call her a sister. I always feel welcome when spending time in New Hampshire visiting them, and it’s largely thanks to Chrissy. Over the years, we’ve bonded over our love of the same shows (Bachelor/Bachelorette and Selling Sunset to name a few), and of course over the kiddies. I was lucky enough to stand next to her on her wedding day and I’m so excited for her to stand next to me on mine!

Danei and I really didn’t have a choice but to become friends (her husband is Jon, one of Jordan’s best friends & groomsmen). Since Jordan and I have moved back to Tennessee, we’ve really been able to grow a lot closer over extended weekends either here or in Ohio. She even came to watch when my Mom and I were at CPE Nationals (dog agility) in Springfield 2 years ago. She’s one person I can really sit down and have deep conversations with and truly feel supported (especially supporting our need for more dogs). She’s stuck with Jon, I’m stuck with Jordan… we’re stuck together. Luckily, she has the keys ready if we need a getaway car at any point.

John is one of my big brothers that I have always looked up to ever since I can remember. Over the past few years, we have gotten a lot closer, and it is definitely a change of pace from what I was used to growing up. Of course, I have the fond memory of watching TV on the couch, like an innocent little kid, and suddenly being ambushed by John as he jumped on me squashing me like a bug. Not sure he remembers that, but I do, and I am sticking to my story. There was also the perfect storm summer where he was my swim coach, my summer job manager, AND still my older brother at home. There was no escape from his reign that summer. Those were a long 3 months. Aside from being someone to look up to, John also was very supportive of me growing up. Being the youngest, I go to all my siblings graduations, confirmations, track meets, cross country meets, plays, dance recitals, swim meets, and all other sport games. However, since the other siblings are older, they typically had a choice or a mode of transportation to excuse them from attending my events. John, on the other hand, went out of his way to come to some of my wrestling meets in high school, volleyball tournaments in college and grad school, and he has visited pretty regularly ever since I left home. Over the years, we have had our fair share of adventures, like repelling out of a window at his undergraduate college, and most recently climbing a snowy mountain in Montana with only one pair of winter gloves. All things aside, I am thankful to have big brother like John and I know he will always be there if I need him.

Jon and I met at AKP CrossFit in Dayton, Ohio. The foundation of our relationship revolved around fitness and being competitive. Everyday we would show up for class and do everything in our power to beat the other in the workout. It burns me to admit, but Jon won more times than not. All of a sudden though, I beat him in one workout by a single rep. This was a big day for me, so big in fact, that I wrote him an anonymous postcard that just contained our scores with a “>” between them. Classic. Luckily, he found the humor in this competitive gesture and the rest is history. Over the years, Jon has coached me in Olympic weightlifting, where I do my best to embarrass him in new ways. We have had some unforgettable moments at weightlifting meets and CrossFit comps over the years. Besides working out, we also played a lot of video games together, especially during COVID, and we enjoy watching and talking sports. Since moving from Ohio to Tennessee, our friendship has not skipped a beat and he is easily one of my best friends that I know I can count on.

John Michael and I met at the University of Tennessee. I joined the club volleyball team my second semester at Tennessee and that was where I officially met John Michael. I first met John Michael on the intramural volleyball court where my graduate student team was no match for his. Fast forward to when I joined the school club team, that season John Michael and I went on to win a division title at the collegiate club volleyball nationals tournament with our team. We have played in many volleyball tournaments together, attended country music concerts, and have tons of memories to share from our time at Tennessee. Most importantly, while I was playing club, I also met his better half, Micaela, who also became an amazing friend to me. While we all spent time at Tennessee, both their families really took me in and treated me like one of their own. Whether it was a place to crash in the Nashville area, a dog sitter, a home cooked meal, or food runs at volleyball tournaments, they really helped me find a home away from home.

Dayton and I met at the University of Tennessee in the chemistry graduate program. I first met Dayton at the department recruitment open house in the spring of 2019. While at Tennessee, we enjoyed drinks at The Hill and Chaiyos lunches, survived the grad school process, and we were quite the dynamic duo as President and Vice President of the chemistry graduate student association. So many good times. After graduation, we both moved to Dayton, Ohio to work at the Air Force Research Lab in different research groups. We were basically the Doctor version of Maverick and Goose, so some would say. Since that time, we both moved to different parts of Tennessee, and our love for Tennessee athletics, fantasy football, plus the annual KGW, keep the good times coming. To this day, I often tell myself to be more like Dayton when certain situations arise because his outgoing personality is one of a kind.