{the many faces of my links}

M

This tribute will most likely be my longest as this special person is my dearest and closest friend. I mean, there had to be a reason why she was the first person on my friend's list. I debated whether or not to put her on my "family list" but in the effort to not confuse you all, I decided to drop her down a line. I hope she doesn't mind but deep down, she knows that she's my sister at heart.

M's first impression of me was actually not a very good representation of who I am. We had been cast as roommates and she was in the process of moving into our apartment while I was out for the day (probably flirting with a boy). She peeked into my room to get a glimpse into the style and interests of her new roommate. Here is what she saw. Looking back at this picture, I gave myself the title of "Pretty Princess" on my own. Luckily, after meeting me, we became fast friends and found bizarre little connections to each other.

One of the very best things about M is that she is always ready and willing to listen and give sound advice. She can tell when I want to talk and when I really need to talk. There have been many long nights when we shared a room and laid in our beds while I talked and she listened. There have been many days when I woke up to find a little thoughtful letter or arrived home from school and found a cheery post-it note on the door to pick me up from a hard day. There have been long drives while singing our favorite songs, dance parties where we didn't care what we looked like, Friday night dates when we didn't have boyfriends and Friday night dates when we did. There has been shared music, poems, books, quotes, clothes and "Annie". There has been laughter until our bellies ached and our eyes cried and there has been total silence while we both appreciated something beautiful.

M is unique in many ways. She doesn't concern herself with what other people think of her. To her, that is completely personal and she has let that form her into the kind of person that never thinks of herself. She never ceases to serve other people in small and simple ways. She is the kind of person that everyone thinks is their "best friend" while all along, she doesn't label her relationships that way.

Watching television, eating chocolate and sleeping in are not things that M enjoys. I know it sounds crazy but instead of watching television, M reads "Walden" or "As A Man Thinketh" for the 100th time. Instead of eating chocolate by the pound (as some of us do) she prefers her own homemade granola or some non-acidic fruit (as she is allergic to citric acid). And, rather than sleeping in, M will instead wake up early to take a refreshing walk as the sun rises so she can think about life and her own goals. It's amazing when I consider how much self-control she possesses. M inspires me to be a better person and in my opinion, that is the truest friend a person can have.

M's blog marks many important events in her life as well as inspirational thoughts, fun events going on in the SLC area, delightful jewelry that she makes herself, beautiful photos that she captures with her trusty camera and plenty of other goodies that are worth checking out. Read her blog here.