20 October 2011 (Way Back in 2006/The Longest Post EVER!)

Dear Diary, 20 October 2011


It seems so foreign to put the "2011", although this year is almost over. In my mind, 2005 or 2006 were not so long ago. Things were very different back then...I was different, my family was different - the entire world was different.


In 2006...
George W. Bush was president. Blu-Ray was first introduced. The Great American Boycott occurred. "Cars" came out. Apparently, the battleship age ended.


These things all happened during that year...perhaps you were a part of one or all. What was I doing?


OK, this is going to sound very pathetic, but truthfully I was praying for a friend.


For a year or so, my life had been centered around family - not that that's a bad thing. I love my family. Still, it is nice to have a friend you can be really close to. Someone you can talk to during the day about stuff that's bringing  you doing, someone who can make you laugh when you've got so much stress on your shoulders that you have to fight to keep from crying. 

My pen-pal cousin encouraged me to pray about the things I wanted and to not give up. Being  Christian since before I can remember, praying for things was common. However, praying for something and really, really expecting results was not. In a way, it's kind of scary to do that. You are putting so much faith in God, investing your hopes in what you request of Him, that if He were to give you a "no" answer, the results could be dramatic. I wanted it so bad, though, that I decided to take that chance.


Two big things were high up on my prayer-list that year: horseback riding lessons and a friend.


The results were so amazing, I can hardly believe it looking back.


I remember the day clearly, even if the exact date escapes my memory. My mom had enrolled us in a new homeschool group. The three of us attended homeschool group get-togethers before, and usually they were either awkward or lots of fun, in which case we would become friends with someone only to never see them again. This time, however, Mommy was excited and revved as she sometimes got about certain things - actually, she still is like that, but I digress. Another factor which made my bro and I less than thrilled to attend this event solely lay in the issue of it being a P.E. Day. The two of us also shared a rather unflattering mental view of P.E. Days, based on past experiences.

P.E. Day is now Park Day...this is something we found at
Park Day yesterday

So we pulled up to the park...Collins Park. We got out and glanced around. New faces everywhere without a hint of recognition. Daunted, yes, but we proceeded. New social situations have never been, and quite possibly never will be, my stronghold. Nor Jacob's. Mommy, on the other hand, is a social butterfly even if she refuses to admit it. We were thrust - and I use the term literally (lol) - into the group and began playing games for the next couple of hours.


The first person I remember meeting was a boy wearing camo jeans - which I especially noticed due to my obsession with them at the time. He told us his name, but afterwards both Jacob and I forgot it, so we simply called him "the boy with the camo pants". Later, we learned his name was Mitch.

Lilac, Beeb, and me

The second meeting I recall happened after P.E. Mommy temporarily abandoned us for the restroom, leaving me alone amongst a throng of strangers...or partial strangers, I suppose I had met some people by this time. But anyway, I realized that I was being ridiculously anti-social, so I approached the first person I saw: a girl, about my age, wearing a blue shirt and basketball shorts similar to the ones I liked to wear. She was watching two boys - her brothers - roll down a hill. In fact, it came to my knowledge that everyone was rolling down this hill. People were everywhere, rolling around in the grass. At a loss for better words, I put on a confused smile and said, "Do you know what's going on here?" It was a pretty lame introduction and I forget what happened directly after that. All I remember is that the girl joined my softball team shortly after that and the two of us became the best of friends. Her name? Well, I will call her "Beeb".


This story has become very long, and probably boring to you. Apologies. You see, these events are incredibly important to me because without them, my life would be a great deal - to enormous degree - emptier. I shall attempt to hastily bring it all together.


Yes, I made one friend that day, perhaps even two. But through those two people, via a bible study group Beeb's mom organized, I was introduced to Beeb's best friend, whom I will call "Lilac", as well as a host of other people who are now very good friends. Our homeschool group grew both in body and in our hearts. Today, my mom is co-leader.


My friends are so amazing. That may sound like a corny statement - like I don't get out much or something - but it really is true. Through them, I have been able to grow as a person and as a Christian. The insecurities I faced during those past years faded because I knew I didn't have to be different in order to be liked.

Overall, my prayers in 2006 were answered...and God continues to answer it everyday of my life. I am reminded constantly through my friends that He does listen to me. He didn't leave me hanging when I needed something. My heart was empty, He filled it.


So yeah. That is one of the best experiences I can remember. There are others...one involving a fateful trip to the Downtown Aquarium...but I shall save it for another day.


One last thing: up above, I said I prayed for two things. The other being horseback riding lessons. Well... also through the homeschool group, the opportunity arose for me to finally take lessons! I rode for three years at the YMCA, fulfilling one of my life-long dreams.


God is pretty awesome.