Dear Kelsee,

My roommates give me                    s m a c k

all the time because I "lie to them," calling each one of them "my best friend." I forget that no one else knows what I'm talking about (except for you) when I use that term. 

I don't exactly know when you and I started using that phrase as a double meaning for the complex mix of emotions we feel, but I still love that we do. I think it was right before Senior year. I had a best friend. THE ONLY best friend I've ever known. You had yours. Tosh was your everything, Tyler was mine.

AND THEN life sent our worlds spinning. You left your wonderful Idaho homeland to travel to the...a...interesting town of Park City, Utah. To this day, I still think you were bitter towards Utah for a long time. To this day, I thank the Lord you came to find me.

We just ended up at the same place. Everyone left the party except you and I...and then we talked for who-knows-how-long.Instant connection. Instant friendship.

Then it just worked. Suddenly I needed you in my everyday life. Then I needed Erika. Then I needed Nathan. And finally, I needed Josh Paul. Then Sarah and Kinz. Each of our friends were so incredibly close to my heart that I couldn't even think of how to describe it. So..."best friend" was what I chose. And then you used it too. Suddenly, T was best friend. And so was I. And it just worked. And life was wonderful.

***

SO: to make a short story long: you seven are the ones who changed my life. You governed my thoughts, advice, weekend agenda, and music choice.


Music. Random. I know, right? But here's the story. Kels, I have a new best friend. His name is Austen. If you ever get the chance to meet him, I wouldn't be surprised if you find him AMAZING!!!! He's probably the most interesting person I've ever met in my life...apart from maybe my sister. 


And you think I'm kidding.


I absolutely love talking to him. He's slowly changing my life. :) Best friend status. You see the connection?    You see, I'm almost 20. I have grown more in the last 4 years of my life than I give myself credit for, but I know I still have a long way to go until I'm the person I want to be. Being friends with Austen makes me realize that I can be the person I want to be....TODAY! He just goes out and DOES stuff. LEARNS stuff. IS the person he wants to be. So if you were wondering, that's why I'm here today. Why I'm writing you/the world/who ever reads this blog. To learn. Even if that means the boring stuff...like school...much to Austen's dismay.

***

Anyway: music. Kels, Austen likes Radiohead. I'm not sure how much...but from what I can tell, I think it's pushing the line of addiction. Which is cool and all...considering that neither you or I have sat through an entire Radiohead song in our lives...ok maybe you have...but...still. It gets me thinking: His taste in music is a lot different then mine. And I hope he doesn't hate me for that. Who knows? Maybe he'll convert me...but maybe not. You know why? Cuz my entire love for music came from you seven. Wanna know why? K good, I'm going to tell you:
Tyler: we got all dressed up once and went to the symphony. One of the most phenomenal nights ever. #1 Because for some reason, I LOVE dressing up and feeling like I'm classy. It's one of my favorite things. #2 Because I just love classical music. Simple as that.     OH! And musicals. Tyler and I love musicals.
Nathan: Holy crap. Where do I begin? Between all of Nathan's ensembles, I probably listened to him play jazz piano at least once a week for the duration of Senior year. And loved every minute of it. Sway at the Riverhorse. Sticky Keys combo with the band kids. His trio with Chris and Parker. All-State Jazz. High School Jazz Ensemble. Plus our fetish with Michael Bublé. Can you see why I'm OBSESSED with live jazz gigs? 
Erika: I literally think that half of the time we were in a car together we just blasted Taylor Swift. We love to sing. T-Swift is perfect sing along music. Makes sense, no? Good, good times.
You: I hated everything about the sound of country music...until I fell in love with it. It just happened all of a sudden. The lyrics are just way too great. They make you believe that boys actually DO have hearts. Thanks for understanding me.
Josh Paul: Taught me a love for the guitar. :) 
Kinz: My music role model. A combo of country and guitar and all things wonderful. Kinz is one of the reasons I write my own songs.
Sarah: :) Taught me to be in love with music. She's Indie like that. And I'm proud.




Anyway. I thought that was a pretty cool discovery I had this morning. 
Thanks for the smiles. I love my best friend.

      -Clo

Dear roommates: I hope you understand now.  :)


Dear Austen: I hope you don't hate me now. :)


Dear anyone else: If you made it this far, CONGRATS!