Graceful Ponderings: My Best Friend

A little more than five years ago, I was a little girl stepping into Sunday services at a church for the first time. I thought I might learn some truth there, perhaps the meaning of life (as one does when investigating a new religion), but never imagined that I'd find my best friend in the twelve year-old, slightly crazy girl chatting with the other Beehives. My stern, shy, serious self felt so isolated at the time, but this wonderful girl, Caitlyn, helped me learn to love others and have fun and grow together instead of sticking to myself.
Now we're still little girls, only seventeen. I've grown in a lot of ways, and so has she. Her intellect is astounding, allowing a richness even to ordinary conversations. I love her for how she discusses politics and science and religion and relationships and everything else. For how she refuses to let her youth invalidate her thoughts and opinions.
I love how she wants to do a thousand different things. How she wants to understand the world through her pursuit of science, and how she wants to help illuminate the world for others by sharing what she's learned. The light in her eyes when she talks about learning is one of the most delightful things.
It's also superb to just sit and talk with her about boys or English accents or dinosaurs or heaven or whatever. To have fun and laugh and just be silly, or to compete to try to be mutually better.
I could go on and on about Caitlyn. Her compassion., her bravery, her defiance, her loyalty, her optimism and dedication.
Now she's going to do some more great things and make an even better life out at college. And she's going to rock it like the babe she is. So looking forward to sharing more adventures with her through the years.