"These Guys"

A major component of my happiness is due to nostalgia.  
I make a concerted effort never to dwell on the past, 
but I certainly spend a great deal of time reflecting upon 
and respecting every moment of it. 

So admittedly, while snapping this gem at Jeff's wedding

I had to take a moment to catch my breath, 

because "these guys" have changed the course of my life 

and I am grateful everyday for their continued friendship.

My first year at Michigan I came VERY close to transferring and my mom thankfully worked every angle to talk me out of it.  I was a freshman who felt "far" from home and an 18 year old "adult" who was scared of making a whole new group of friends. In my mind, it would just be easier to transfer to the University of Wisconsin where I had a few ready-made besties.

In a last ditch effort, my mom said that she would pay for me to join a sorority AND to go on Spring Break... 
tough offer to pass up and fortunately I didn't.

--- > Fast forward to Acapulco, Mexico ---> 

While unpacking in a very crammed hotel room with eight fellow Kappa Kappa Gamma's, there were a lotta negotiations going on: Who will get to sleep in a bed? Who will take the couch? Who is willing to sleep on the floor? Who needs closet space? Who needs to iron their clothes?  Did anyone bring a hair straightener?!

I thought my head might explode 

and then came an angelic knock at the door.

The eight ATO boys staying in the room next to us were already unpacked (clearly) and ready to bev (obviously). They asked who was ready to head down to the beach bar and I jumped to door as if I had springs for an ass! 

That night, by an act of higher awesomeness, one of the guys asked me to be an "alternate" for their deep sea fishing trip the next morning. Jeff said, "We are supposed to meet at the boat at ~6am but there's a good chance someone will bail. Should we knock on the door in the morning if there's a spot for you?" 

At 6am on the dot, I was ready for the call! And when they finally knocked on the door, I couldn't have been happier :)

And so marked our very first adventure as new-found besties! Me, Jeff, Matty, Tim, Fran and JoeJoe. The rest of the vacation I hung out with the boyz as an honorary ATO and when I called home (from my dorm room land-line) to thank my mom after returning (insanely sunburned) to Ann Arbor, I'll never forget the happiness in her voice when she asked, "So you don't want to transfer anymore?!" To which I replied, "NO WAY!  Mom, I gotta go -- there's apparently this thing called Greek Week and one of the girls asked me to be part of Dance Marathon and the ATO's are buying a slip n' slide to put on the hill and Oh My God can you tell dad that we caught a 4 FOOT Marlin on the fishing trip!! No joke. Oh, also..."

The rest is history 
and I very much have "these guys" 
to thank for it :)