Friends that become family.

I know it was not too long ago that I wrote a post about the wonder that is Ryann, but after what happened this morning, I can't help but be so grateful for this girl.  See, the cool thing was that nothing major actually happened.  All it was was a conversation.  A conversation with the girl who knows me better than anyone else on the planet, save for Matt (and even now I'm beginning to think she's rivaling him).  I know her well enough to know that I cannot put details about what we talked about on this blog, but it doesn't matter what we talked about, anyway.  What matters is that I left that conversation with the biggest grin on my face simply because part of me can still hardly believe there's a girl that I've let so far into my life.  I never trusted girls.  Ever.  Mainly because every girl I knew was vindictive and mean, and when I first met Ryann, I thought she was just the vapid, popular, gorgeous athlete who was "above" me.  That's not a secret; she and I have talked about how far off our first impressions of each other were.  It was actually two years ago this fall that we ended up in the same French class, French 201, but I didn't talk to her at all that semester.  And it just makes me think that she's another reason I'm grateful for those brain surgeries, because if I hadn't had those surgeries I would've completed French 201 in the fall of 2009 and never met her.  So there you go.  Then, in the spring of 2011,  we ended up having 3 classes together, and March 27th was the first day we ever spent any time together outside of class (granted, it was to study, but still).  And from there, things just clicked.  By summer, we were texting each other almost every day, and by fall we were inseparable.  It's kind of ridiculous, when I write it out like that, but it's how it worked.  Now, I honestly can't imagine life without her in it.  We talk as if we just know we're going to be in each other's lives for the rest of our lives.  To know I have a sister like this heals so much in my heart that I didn't even know was still there.

And then there's Matt.  Do I really even need to say it?  Oh, well, I'll say it anyway.  It's SUCH A RELIEF to be able to look at him or talk to him and ONLY see him as my best friend/big brother.  Like, seriously, we were talking about his girl drama the other day, and in the middle of the conversation, I was sitting there thinking , "Oh my gosh, we NEVER would have worked. We would have driven each other insane!"  I am legitimately, 100% over him.  And because of that, I can look back on all the years I spent...not over him, and I realize that I am SO lucky to still have him in my life, especially to the extent that he is.  I was a messed up kid, and I gave him basically every excuse in the book to leave, and he never did.  He truly lived out what it means to love someone at their worst.  But like, during our conversation the other day, I (jokingly) said, "It is amazing we do not drive each other absolutely insane, you know?"  He replied, "LOL yeah, but I doubt we will.  Stuff comes up too much for that to last."  I said, "Exactly.  We need each other...at least, we need each other too much to let our own stupidity get in the way." (Because, really, we're always right about the other one's life, but never manage to figure things out about our own until after the fact.) And he said, "Yep, pretty much."  I am so thankful that we're now at the point where he can actually come to me for stuff, that it's not just me needing him all the time.  And then I think about the fact that he saved my life basically every day of my high school life, and he didn't know it.  I'm just so thankful, and so, so blessed.

There are some others, too.  Taylor and Bruno, for starters.  The other day, Taylor told me whatever guy I end up with in the end better have his approval.  Haha!  Great, I have two protective big brothers now. ;)  Those two have been there for me through a lot since we met.  They were there for the biggest night of my life and genuinely celebrated it with me, something I'll never forget and am honestly so grateful they were there for, because they'd played such a part in my spiritual life before that.  I look up to them more than they will ever know.  And through Taylor, I "met" Kyla.  I can go to that girl about anything, good, bad, or anything in between and know that I'm safe from judgment.  That is a gift, no matter where you find it.

Today's been a major day of learning for me, for sure.  But with people like this in my life, I never ever forget that when they're teaching me things and it hurts, it's because they truly love me.  The coolest part?  They're not the only ones I have.  They've just been the most prominent as of late.  I adore them.  They're a big part of the reason why I know that I am so blessed to live the life that I do because people like this?  They're gems.  And they're the kind of people you know are worth fighting for.