My Funny Valentine

This morning as I was waiting to catch the bus for work I saw a bunch of high school students waiting for theirs. Standing out in the early morning cold with them reminded me of being back in high school. That was my school bus stop all throughout it, after all. A few years ago that would have been me. They were standing around in those big puffy down coats that I remember became so popular when I was there. I thought about how I sort of wanted one back then, even though I thought they were a little dumb, because at that age you're always trying to fit in, feeling out of place, not wanting to conform but wanting to belong somewhere. And as I stood there I began to wonder, what kept me from becoming a boring Reston suburbanite? Why didn't I succumb to those puffy jackets that were all the rage, and Aeropostale, and A&F? I could say it was my inherent dislike for looking like a slob, or the fact that I read about other places so much it made me want to see them for myself, and strive for something better, and those are partially true. I find it very hard to try and force myself to become something I'm not. And I definitely was not formed in that mold.
But something else helped me realize that not conforming to those ideas could be cooler, more interesting and lead to adventures unimagined by the likes of most of my peers-- my partner in crime, my 'hetero life partner', the one person besides my family, who will keep coming back for more, will put up with my stupid mistakes, laugh at all of my jokes, get into international trouble with me, tell me honestly what she thinks of the clothes I try on, and most importantly, inspire me to greater heights, my closest friend of 15 years.

The Designer's uniqueness and individuality, her desire to set herself apart from the pack, through clothing, music, travel or whatever it may have been, definitely inspired my own search for something greater than what was in front of me. So on this day, the day when we profess our love for those around us (whether prompted to by Hallmark or otherwise), I'm professing my love to the amazing friends that I have, but most importantly, to one friend in particular. I just want to thank you for being such an awesome, inspiring, cool friend to my young high school self, and to myself now. I know we fight sometimes, and make stupid mistakes, get annoyed with the other and get tangled up in each other's affairs, but you really have been an amazing friend, one I'm grateful for, and one I hope to always have.
Love, Meredyth