The feeling of knowing Sam is very similar to the feeling you get finding the last corner piece so you can finally start working on the inside of the puzzle. You know you could’ve started somewhere else, maybe picked a side and work your way in until that final piece popped up, but taking the time to find that right piece…that right person is worth the wait.

When I met Sam, she let me know that she had already kind of met me. Watching from a distance, seeing me pop up here and there around campus, but not yet having the chance to cross paths. When she became a Student Ambassador I remember her being one of my first lunch dates. Second floor of SSC, I either got the Turkey burger I was obsessed with or a salad to be cute, and there’s a fair chance Sam got some kind of pasta. We both went into this conversation thinking that maybe I’d be her ‘mentor’ in the organization, but our conversation was one that ebbed and flowed between our love for the BEST Cinderella movie (IYKYK), life outlooks, and our love for purple and gold. A conversation with someone who I didn’t know before that moment turned into a rushing waterfall of laughter with someone I felt like I’ve known my whole life. I never became her mentor. That title went to another bridesmaid I’m sure you’ll meet. But I became her friend—something I’ve grown to treasure more than any corner piece of any puzzle.

When I think of Sam, I think about cozy coffee corners and libraries that smell like their 100 years old in the best kind of way. When I think of Sam, I’m reminded of our too many to count study dates at Valley Pike in Harrisonburg, where we both just needed to get away from campus while still being with each other. I picture the one too many digital planners that come through my phone that Sam thinks about buying only to end up with the same light blue handheld planner and the same highlighters she’s been using since Sophomore year of college. She’s the friend who helps me get my life together even when hers might also be a bit shambly too. She’s my tall best friend who sends me a giraffe of some kind every year and is perfectly okay with me telling her that she’s my favorite giraffe…even though I technically have a giraffe. Yes, a real one! One was adopted in my name a few years back.

I’m so glad that ~four score and 7 years ago~ I met my best friend. And this season, I’m even more excited to stand beside her as she marries hers!

If you see me at the wedding and need some talking points….

ALL things wine, I studied abroad in South Africa, I’m a 4-H alumna, JMU, Friends, The Office, Parks and Rec, ANYTHING Marvel, definitely what we’re having for dessert at the wedding, and how likely I am to take my shoes off once the Electric Slide comes on!

See you all soon!