Person: Stephanie

Ohhhh Stephanie.

Stephanie is one of my very favorite people.  She's so much fun, but she's also very driven and responsible and so she's got this natural ability to make the people around her better.  

It's pretty cool.  

She and I met when we became suite mates our first year of college. 

If I remember correctly, we are both 100% sober in this.  I almost didn't include it because my face is awful, but had to because it cracks me up real hard.  Whatever, at least I look good south of my neck.  (As someone who shows as little skin as possible now, looking at this picture I'm simultaneously like "damn, get it girl" and "Charlotte wtf, you heathen, cover up.") 

We lived in different buildings sophomore year, but I suppose we just couldn't keep living without each other because we opted to get an apartment together (and with one other friend!) for the remainder of our college years.  Our friendship lasted despite a very bad haircut given to me by Steph in which I had varying levels of bangs.  Very bad. 

There's something really wonderful and beautiful about living with someone for years.  You have to be a grown up and think about others and be mature (and all that dreadful shit).  We never really fought, but we disagree on a few things and I know I annoyed Stephanie many a time while we lived together and she annoyed me a few times and instead of it ruining our friendship it made it stronger.  I think we both learned to be more empathetic, to be mindful, and to compromise.  If necessary we'd have a heart to heart, try and change a bit, and move on.  I'm sure that doing those kind of things make us better people and relationships better.  (You know, the whole "through thick and thin" thing.)  

For the most part, living with Stephanie was awesome.  We had so much fun.  There wasn't anything particularly bad about it, though I do laugh thinking back to the days when we'd eat lasagna or mac and cheese for dinner every night for a week.  (When I lived alone, I meal planned, but I broke the meals up and froze them so that I could have variety.  Stephanie would make a huge tray of homemade mac and cheese and throw it in the fridge.. and that's what we'd eat.  For a week.  Ah, Steph <3) 

Steph is very motivated and... I don't even know.  I suppose she's like a mini-Oprah.  She'd try to do yoga, she'd make green smoothies, she used to have "dream boards" etc etc.  She was the poster child for all those "ways to enrich your life and be happy" books and websites.  Naturally, she'd try to get us on board.  I'd be like: 

"I'm not going to do yoga with you but yes!  I'll walk to the library."

"Is this green smoothie just celery?  Maybe can we have a less-green smoothie?"

"OKAY YES!  ARTS AND CRAFTS!  I WILL MAKE A DREAM BOARD POSTER." 

She was a very good influence on me.  

  

Stephanie can be..... blunt.  Brutally honest.  I like honesty, I just aim to soften it sometimes.  I remember one day we were all sitting in our apartment and I said, "I need to lose a tremendous amount of weight."  

She replied, "Yeah, you really do."  

DAMN, STEPH.  

I wasn't hurt by it, I was just taken aback.  I think I laughed and told her I'd appreciate a slight filter, though I do always want her honest opinion.  When I know I need a reality check or I'm unsure of whether I'm doing the right thing, Stephanie is one of the first people I go to for an opinion.

She's occasionally spontaneous, but for the most part she likes to have things planned.  Or she looks for a reason to do something.  (I think, after living with each other, she became a little more spontaneous and I became a little more responsible.  I'd get momentarily excited about something and insist we do it, and she'd be like, "Charlotte, we both have huge projects due this week, we both are broke, and it's zero degrees outside.  Maybe we should fly a kite another time.")

Fun fact about Steph: She does not like the cold. 

Though she may not be the absolute most spontaneous person on earth, she's always down for (eager, even) going on an adventure.

Our personalities and interests are similar in that we're both just slightly boring.  You know, bed early, movies/books over partying (most of the time). 

She's infuriatingly good at pretty much everything she does.  I swear, I've never seen her set a goal and not reach it.  Wants to play guitar?  Teaches self to play guitar.  Wants to invest in stock market?  Reads about it and invests.  Wants to knit?  Learns to knit.  Wants to get into great nursing school?  Gets into great nursing school. 

Ugh, vomit in my mouth. 

I have fond memories of movie nights, library trips, fishing trips, and so much more.  We had so much fun, man.  During Christmas we got in the car, bought hot chocolate, put on Christmas music, and drove around looking at all the Christmas lights.  There was one house that was just beautifully done so we (creepily?) wrote down their address and sent them a Christmas card telling them how nice their house looked and that it made us happy.

We were both hired by the same company once and could not stop cracking up during the group portion of the hiring process.  Luckily it was just us, one other girl, and the woman who interviewed us, who laughed along with us.  (I think it boiled down to me making one bad joke, Steph laughing at me for making the bad joke, and then... neither of us getting over it.)

I'm completely comfortable around Steph (no choice after sharing an apartment with one bathroom) and I'm fairly certain she feels the same way.  I can hardly believe we've known each other for over six years, but we've already established that she's the Godmother for my first kid and that, while it probably won't happen, it'd be so much fun to live next to each other.  

Steph sent me a birthday card once and wrote that she didn't think she'd have loved or enjoyed Albany as much as she does if it weren't for me and my insistence that we do things (and my annoying habit of pointing at things and being like "LOOK HOW BEAUTIFUL IT IS" even while operating heavy machinery).  I was touched but I also think she's crazy to not realize that she's half the reason I'm even like that.  To put it plainly, Stephanie can be a pushy mother effer.  I had some serious lows depression-wise during college, and she'd make me do all these things.  We'd go to concerts on campus, poetry slams, even the occasional game.  Also, walks.  Ugh she'd make me go on so many walks.  But a lot of that stuff forced me to develop similar habits.  So yes, I guess I helped Albany become a great place for her, but it's really only because of her that I'm like that.   

She is also the one that introduced me to chicken tikka masala, so I'm sort of indebted to her forever. 

I can't wait for the next 6x10 years of friendship.  

xoxo. 

__

Charlotte