Person: Alison

P sure she'll hate me for this, since I cropped myself out.

I don't even know how to begin writing about my friend Alison. (Sometimes I call her "Palison" since she's my pal.) I usually don't like to play favorites among my friends, but... there's something about Alison that makes me instantly like her. I love all of my close friends, obviously, but I can't think of Alison and not smile. I'm sure she'll love reading that. (She's probably puking in her mouth.) 

We get along astoundingly well considering how we've always been at different stages in life. She's a couple years older. I was like a horrible student who never went to class when we met, and she was not. Now she's married with a good job and I'm over here fumbling around trying just to function. And yet, we click.

Not the best quality ever, but it'll do.

I think Alison finds me more amusing than any of my other friends do. (I could be wrong and maybe she's just being nice to me to preserve my feelings?) She laughs at most of my jokes. If they aren't terrifically funny, she at least gives me a look that tells me she appreciates the effort (unless it's at an inappropriate moment). I find her funny, too, but in a much subtler way. She's less of an outright dick than I am. 

I had a surgery a few years back and a few of my friends came along. She was the only one (I think?) who didn't do a-hole things like tell me I was gonna die from the air bubbles in my IV (I'm looking at you, Liz). Also, I..... vaguely remember needing help getting dressed after surgery. I even vaguely-er remember being like, "No! I don't want help getting dressed!" As Alison and another friend (if I'm remembering correctly - I was full of drugs) helped me get dressed. It doesn't sound funny, but my fuzzy memory of it is hilarious. 

She's sort of selfless but it's annoying as fuck because, like, she won't tell me her birthday! I believe it's in June, but I'm not sure (if I had to guess, I'd say June 25th.. so it's probably February 3rd). I LOVE SENDING PEOPLE GIFTS AND/OR CARDS FOR THEIR BIRTHDAYS. IT IS ONE OF THE WAYS I SHOW MY LOVE. AND THIS B IS MAKING IT SO I CANNOT DO THAT. I should send her a birthday card once a week just to annoy her. 

I am definitely going to start doing that. 

But yeah, she also has like zero pictures of just her on Facebook (other than ones where she's mid-running), which is why I had to crop that photo up there. Here's the original: 

This picture was taken on my birthday a couple of years ago. It sums up our relationship unbelievably well. 

Al is the classiest person I know. I think. I'd call her style simple-elegant. (Yes, Alison? Do you agree?) She'd probably be just fine having Kate Middleton's closet. Also, and yes, I know, external beauty is not all that matters, but I'd be remiss to not mention that she's annoying gorgeous. I've told her this before an she usually rolls her eyes. One time after she hung out with some of my friends, I asked a friend what she thought of Alison, and the response literally was, "She seems nice. Also, I have never seen such a perfect face." She is not the only friend who has had that kind of response after I've introduced them to Al. I'm sure Alison is mad at me for even writing that (or at least annoyed/blushing/whatever), but it's my blog and I'll say what I want. One day she and her husband will end up having babies that come out six feet tall with the faces of porcelain dolls.

Really adore the fact that I look pregnant in every picture we have together. -_-

When we first met, I liked her but also assumed she'd be condescending. I don't know why? Maybe because she and my then-roommate (which is how we met) asked me a bunch of questions and told me they had stalked me online before I moved in. (They also told me they thought I'd be awful - prob why I assumed she'd look at me with fiery scorn.) But it turned out that we got along well and she doesn't (to my knowledge) judge me for any of the things. 

We had this fun thing going where we wrote to each other all the time (old school) but I dropped the ball on that after the last letter. oy. Gotta get my act together.  

Before her wedding we were all at her house and her parents, who are very nice, marked our heights on the wall. This gives me such an immense feeling of satisfaction for some reason. I think it's because my brain is all, "Haha, Alison, I'm on your wall now. You're friends with me forever now. No escaping it." 

Over all, she's pleasant, but not in a bubbly way (like Stephanie). She's sarcastic and humorously cynical, but when it comes down to it she is very supportive. I mean, like I said, she helped an annoying drugged person get dressed after surgery. She can't not be a somewhat nice person. 

My friend Liz and I have joked before that Liz's boyfriend, Sean, is like the older brother I never wanted. Well Alison is like the older sister I did want. We probably don't talk as much as we should. Next week, when I send her the first of 52 birthday cards she's getting, I'll mention it. 

xoxo

____

Charlotte  

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 

Person: Liz

No one calls her Elizabeth but "Liz" just didn't look right in the picture so that's that.

In my head I refer to Liz as her first and last name, but as I don't want the whole wide world knowing her deats, I'm not using her full name here and it is irking me real hard.  So I think I might make up a last name for her for this post.  OH HOW ABOUT BENNET?  Thanks, Jane.  

Liz Bennet and I met when we were nerds in our university's student association.  We were senators, and this kid neither of us talk to anymore said we'd get along and so we sat next to each other and shared Swedish Fish and the rest is history, as they say.  (But really, how could sharing Swedish Fish not force a bond?  Liz could be an ahole and I'd still be her friend because Swedish Fish are just that good.)

She also just logged off of Facebook even though I have more things to tell her.  What a B. 

I have different kinds of friends.  There are the ones I've known since childhood, some I enjoy hanging out with but will probably never think of as family, and there are the select few that I really grew up with.  Like, we met when we were quasi-adults but pretty much still teenagers and we've navigated this whole becoming an adult thing together.  Liz is one of those friends.  I think we've seen each other become ourselves (I mean, we're still in the process, but you know) and that's amazing when you think about it.  Or at least I think it is.  I mean, being along for the ride while your friend figures out who she is?  Gah, teary-eyed. 

Liz Bennet is like, I don't know.  Quirky?  She talks with her hands like no other.  And her facial expressions are on point.  I haven't tried, but I could probably have a full conversation with Liz without her verbally uttering a single syllable.  She is that expressive.  It's great.  

I just decided that Liz Bennet is now Liz's actual new nickname. 

Liz is all accomplished now.  She's got this job that she is very into and she's doing awesome things with it, such as publishing this report (!!!!!!!!!!).  It's a lot of fun to watch.  She is doing the whole being-an-adult-living-life-well thing like a boss.  In Grey's Anatomy, Cristina and Meredith are getting over a fight they had when Meredith, who is clearly happy that Cristina is achieving her goals (because duh, they're BFFs, of course she's happy for her), says, "I'm so jealous of you I want to set things on fire."  I have bad luck and if I lit something on fire I'd probably just end up burning myself or suffering from smoke inhalation but let's just say I'm the Meredith to Liz's Cristina.  (More happy than jealous though.  Because like, we're not in the same field.) 

Now that I am thinking about it, we totally could be Meredith and Cristina.  I mean, they are called the twisted sisters.  We've also compared ourselves to Lorelai and Sookie before.  

It's sickening how accurate this is. 

Liz and I are similar.  Like, very similar.  In fact, ten minutes ago we were talking on Facebook and it turns out that we had just been doing the same things (reading the same article, browsing the same website) and she asked if we share a brain.  Sometimes, I think we might.  We both are into books, want to have our own libraries in our houses, go to bed fairly early, enjoy Say Yes to the Dress and Gilmore Girls entirely too much.  No, just kidding, there's no such thing as enjoying GG too much.

We both love food.  Usually, I don't like talking about or eating too much junk food when I'm with friends who are very thin (good confidence levels over here), but Liz is the exception.  She and I text each other when we eat McDonalds or buy a box of donuts at the store.  If I looked at all 40,000 of our fb messages, I think I'd conclude that we talk about food more than anything.  Liz Bennet is the only person who doesn't judge me (and actually, who agrees!) when I say that Taco Bell is helpful when you're recovering from sickness.  Unless it's a headache sitch, in which case, go get yourself chicken nuggets and a Coke from McD's. 

She's a fairly good person.  Liz has this phobia/hatred of throwing up, and yet when I called her this one time when I was incredibly sick, she brought me bananas and ginger ale.  What a fucking friend, am I right?  (I swear, Liz, I didn't even think of that fact that you hate throw up when I called you that day.  My bad, bro, my bad.)  I'm told she basically boiled her hands after touching the doorknob.  Again, quite the friend.  

As similar as we are, we also want totally different things in life.  Liz has dreams of travel and incredible career goals and I'm over here like, omg I want to get married and have kids.  She's endured many an "I'm going to end up alone with 700 cats" rants and only sometimes looks at me like I'm crazy when I say my ovaries hurt whenever we see a baby or something.  For real, some of my friends super judge when I talk about wanting that kind of life, but Liz does not.  At least not maliciously.  She'll say I'm nuts, but it's usually lovingly.  I think slash hope.  I think the fact that we want such different things but feel totally comfortable talking about them to each other is proof of how strong our relationship is.  Good friendship, man.  

Any concept of boundaries is pretty much nonexistent with us.  We looked at pictures of my uterus and ovaries while eating dinner one night like it was no big thang.  Neither of us have a problem telling the other about bodily functions, let's say.  If one of us is sick (neither of us get an A on the health situation), we usually don't hesitate to give the other very specific, detailed descriptions of symptoms.  It's gross and great.  It's so nice to have a human to talk to about certain things instead of having to google it since you're too embarrassed to ask a friend.  Hell to the no.  

I talk to Liz more than I talk to anyone (poor thing).  I sent her a message earlier because it was so weird that we hadn't talked in over 12 hours.  I cannot decide if this is cute or pathetic, but it is.  And that's nice.    

We've been friends for around four-ish years, but I think the fact that we always get the same results on Buzzfeed quizzes indicates that we can plan on being friends for that x20 more years, for sure.  (Ugh, it's gonna be a long life. ;)

Can you feel the love?

xoxo.

__
Charlotte

Person: Olivia

Olivia is my oldest friend.  We've known each other for around 18 years now (almost 80% of our lives!!!).  She's got the guaranteed spot as my maid of honor unless she does something really, really bad before then.  (So, Liv, no killing anyone or anything like that, mkay?)  

She and I are complete opposites in so many ways.  She basically doesn't sleep at night, I go to bed early.  I get up at the crack of dawn, she can sleep well past 10am.  She listens to horrible music, I listen to great music.  (kidding.. mostly.)  Olivia is like, hella fancy and always looks good, and I usually look, well, regular.  She's loud, I'm quiet.  She's got this great big family who like each other and have parties and gatherings, and I have a family that is complicated, let's say.  She is not a fan of politics, I am.  She acts her age, I act like an old lady.  We're just very different people. 

example: Liv like, "let's take a pic, it will be fun!" Char like, "can we not?"

But, I think, we totally compliment each other when we are together.  We have fun together.  Also, we are both incredibly funny.  Like, very, very funny.  

Olivia is a bit more assertive than I am, and she helps me to be like that when I need to be.  It's good, because I have very little confidence and don't always speak up for myself when I should.  So tg for Liv, you know? 

We grew up in sort of rough circumstances.  This one woman down the street used to actually call us (and our other friends) names because she didn't like our parents and we didn't have money.  And I sort of wish that lady was still living in the neighborhood and could see that Olivia went to school to become a sort of medical person (I don't know the technical things, but I mean, she gets to wear scrubs), and that she works in a doctor's office and is responsible and helps sick little kids all day.  In other words, I wish she could see that Olivia is: 

and resilient and accomplished and NOT a snooty tooty a-hole.  You know, not the kind of person who makes fun of poor kids.  

She's always been outspoken and between the two of us she was the bossier one, but also the one who had a lot of the fun ideas.  And also the bad ideas, like having a fight with stuffed animals that had batteries in them aka were capable of giving bloody noses if hit in the right way.  A house was built in our neighborhood (in my backyard, actually) and we used to go in the house when the construction crews left.  Trespassing.  But so much fun.  Her dad built a fort in their backyard and I remember just hanging out in there in cooler weather and on top of it in warmer weather (because Olivia thought tanning burning was a good idea).  

Her family treats me like family.  She helps me out when I need it and I'm pretty confident she'd do anything for me.  (It's mutual, Oliver.  I gotchyu.)  I mean, the girl shared her bed with me when I had nowhere else to really go.  

I dread/cannot wait until we have kids.  I say dread because like, she's going to be the aunt that thinks it's a good idea to go swimming in a storm or some shit and I'll be worried, but I think that my kids will end up having a good relationship with her and hers with me.  It'll be sweet.  

As for dreams, Olivia wants to...... own horses.  And one day she will.  Because she hesitates for a little while (mostly because she worries about the people around her), but when it comes down to it she does what she needs/wants to.  

I keep trying to get her to move to Albany so we can live out our childhood dream of living together.

She just sent me a message asking me when this post will be published, so maybe I should wrap it up?  

She is that friend where we can go months/years without seeing each other (but let's not, okay?) and we'd pick up right from the start.  She kind of feels like part of me more than a friend.  I constantly doubt myself and my ability to like, keep people in my life, but I have never had a doubt about Olivia.  She and I are going to be in each other's lives, annoying and enriching one another, until one of us dies.  And even then, we'll probably haunt each other.  

18 years and counting. 

xoxo. 

__

Charlotte