When we first moved into our house at the end of August, my roommates and I started a sticky-note wall filled with all the dumb and inappropriate phrases that would come out of our mouths. Although eventually it was removed because phrases like, "It would be like having sex for America" and "I used to watch Power Rangers and eat my boogers" seem much less funny when parents come to visit, there was one phrase I said that I will always find true:
"I knew it was one of my favorite moments because it glitters when I think about it."
Apparently, this is a common occurrence for me, but not for anyone else. Whenever I think about specific times in my life, I have certain memories that "glitter." I'm not talking about some crazy, snow-globe, "I-just-learned-how-to-use-HTML" glitter. It's just a little bit of light, a little bit of gold that shines on some memories that make them just a little bit brighter in my mind.
I've come to the conclusion that this extra light, this extra emphasis on these specific memories mean that they are my perfect moments. They are moments that I was confident and happy and at ease and completely content in my life. The following, in no specific order, are ten of my perfect moments.
My Friends Threw Me & Taylor the Best Surprise Birthday Party Ever.
Somehow, my friends managed to get basically every person I have ever met at Ball State in the same room to surprise me and Taylor for our twentieth birthday party. I will never be able to describe the feeling I had when they took the blindfold off of me and I saw every person I loved standing all together. I felt like the luckiest person in the entire world and came pretty close to crying, but just hugged everyone really hard instead. Plus, I didn't get attacked by Ian's cat, even though it clearly was not about being a guest at my party.
I Watched Local Natives Perform at Sasquatch & Almost Cried.
I had a lot of perfect moments at Sasquatch because it's one of the places that I felt the most free. I was surrounded by people that I loved in an environment that was so relaxed and at ease. All of the concerts and experiences were incredible and hilarious: I will never forget Eddie kissing a thirty-year-old during Noah and the Whale, or Macklemore climbing the rafters during his set, or the lead singer of the Flaming Lips literally crying on stage while he threw chunks of cake at the crowd because he was so happy/sad/stoned. Still, the memory that stands out the most in my mind of the entire weekend is Local Natives set. I can't even describe it because it was so perfect: the sun, the music, the feeling, the people... everything. I've never been more happy to be alive or more confident in the direction my life was going.
I Was a small child & we had our last family reunion.
I have a huge extended family and most of them live in New York. My family lived in Idaho, so it was pretty rare that we would all ever get to be together, but one year, when I was super young, we had this awesome family reunion and I'm pretty sure that it's the last time we've all been together at the same time. I love my family, so obviously this is one of my favorite moments. Also, I still wear that shirt.
I Went On stage at Girl Talk & Drank out of his water bottle.
I went on stage at Girl Talk and drank out of his water bottle. I don't really think that needs an explanation of why it's a perfect moment.
I scarred my leg on Bridget's Desk & should have gotten stitches, but didn't because I was too busy having the best day ever.
No holiday (not even Fall Break 2011, which was a great life experience) will ever top St. Patrick's Day 2012. It was probably one of the best days of my entire existence and I can't really see anything topping it, except for maybe when I get married, and even then, it better be a kick ass wedding to be better than this day. I can't even describe it because it was such an incredible 24 hours. Anna tried to recap it once, when we were having a sleep over in her room last year, and she had to pause for a solid thirty seconds. I thought she fell asleep, but it was really just because the day had so much awesomeness, it was too much to comprehend at once. My mother will hate this sentence, but I'm so glad I will always have a scar on my leg to commemorate that day. Thank you, Bridget, for having a freakishly sharp desk and thank you, Derek (aka Baby Baby), for using your freshman nursing class skills to (kind of) stitch up my leg.
my dad jumped off the boat to rescue a log & my mom made us wear life jackets.
\First of all, this is a real thing. My father jumped off the boat WHILE IT WAS MOVING to rescue A LOG because these are the kind of things that my family does. Second of all, the picture is completely unrelated to this story, my dad and I just look super adorable in it. And, I'm pretty sure that this is the last time my hair ever curled, so I felt like it should be documented as a semi-perfect moment.
my (ex)-boyfriend (almost) told me he loved me & also dripped hot wax down my leg.
For almost four years, I dated probably one of the nicest guys in the entire world. On our first anniversary, we were laying on a bump in the sand by the life guard chair where we went on our first date, looking at the water and talking, when he started digging. I was super confused. He dug up his violin case WHICH HE HAD BURIED IN THE SAND. I was still super confused, until he opened it and pulled out CANDLES AND HIS VIOLIN, WHERE HE THEN PLAYED ME A SONG THAT HE HAD WRITTEN ABOUT ME. We didn't say "I love you" for like, another three months, but still, he wrote me a song, it was pretty obvious he hearted me big time. Hands down, it is the most adorable thing that has ever happened in my entire life, except for maybe the time that he asked me to prom by writing it out in huge rocks and then taking me "bird-watching." I was very lucky. During the anniversary song, he accidentally dripped hot candle wax on my leg, but it's cool, because now I will always have a scar to remember how cute that day was.
my brothers & I accidentally killed three birds in the span of two weeks.
I am well aware of the fact that the death of three innocent birds being on my "perfect moments" list makes me a horrible human being. But, even though we tragically lost/accidentally killed Baby Blue, Angelou and Robert Paulson in the span of two weeks, burying them will be an experience that Jonny, Dana and I will always share. Digging graves, reading Leviticus and witnessing the horrifyingly long and gruesome murder of Robert Paulson will be something the three of us will remember for the rest of our lives.
my best friend Laticia & I danced together for the last time.
I met my best friend, Laticia, when I was two years old at dance class, and we were basically inseparable after that. From the time we were the smallest children until our senior year of high school, we literally did everything together. Our senior year, we were both captains of the varsity dance team and were able to compete a trio routine with our other captain, Erica. The last time we ever performed that dance was so emotional for me because I knew it was the last time Laticia and I would ever dance together again. It marked the end of my dance career (minus Zumba, obv), but it also was the end of getting to do everything with my best friend, because I was moving to Indiana and she was going to school in Washington. That dance will always be very special to me. Although, I also just remembered that it caused me to have a ton of bruises and kind of made me look like I was being beaten because of a move where Erica and Laticia assisted me in a semi-back flip. It got so bad that in between practices, when we would go to Starbucks, I would have to ask for bags of ice to ice my arms, which LET ME TELL YOU, gets you some weird looks. So, I guess I don't miss that part. But, I miss them.
I met my best friends & thought drew's name was spencer for three weeks.
After I finally learned that Drew's name was not Evan, it led to a great friendship full of life-coach sessions, heart-to-hearts, and a lot of bruises, because most times, Drew forgets that he is big and I am small. Even though he once said to my face that sometimes, he just wants to shake me, I really appreciate his friendship and that he firmly believes I would have ended up in a gutter without him to guide my life. Although I would probably like Drew 67% more if his name was actually Evan, I guess he's pretty neat. And, also, I love the rest of my friends. The last couple years we have spent together hold some of my favorite memories and I am so lucky that they kept being friends with me, because the first time I met Tyler, I curtsied and when I was introduced to everyone else, I Zumba'd in front of their TV for approximately three hours (and Jeff is still pretty sure that I smeared cake all over his wall, but I DID NOT). They are great people and I will miss them infinitely next year when they are off being real adults and I am still at college. They're my faves and I will never say the phases "Wow, just wow" or "Tryna" without thinking of how much I love them.