F - Friends? Family?

Talk about pressure. Everyone knows that when you come to the "f" you have to do either friends or family, usually picking whoever is most likely to read it. But what if both friends and family are going to read it? And what if your family members are your friends? And what if your friends become like family? Too many technicalities for my liking. So I took a second to think outside the box and decided to be grateful for friends and family. Genius.

Family: A few years ago, Rachel came out to BYU. I didn't have any particular feelings about this change of events, but my general thought was negative. As every family member knows, Rachel and I do not have happy childhood memories. I remember the first few Sunday's she came home for dinner, they were defined by awkward side-glances and attempts to avoid conversation. I do not remember exactly when our childhood hatred turned into the best-friend bond that we have now, but I do remember one day sitting on the green couch talking about our family, and the oddities that come with having Crookston blood. It was then that I realized how nice it is to have someone who is both family, and my age.

This was about the same time I started to get to know Polly. She moved home for a while, and I am so glad she did. For years, she had fallen under the category of "older siblings who I know basically nothing about," and her time at home gave me the opportunity to know her better. Polly taught me a lot about our family, and helped me realize that as a Crookston, I am just naturally weird, and that is ok. It is ok to be an introvert, and to have a quirky sense of humor.

Through getting to know Rachel and Polly better I came to know my family
 better, something that had been hard for me to do as the youngest by so
many years. I'm pretty glad I have them, because they are quite possibly the
only people who will ever truly understand my oddities, and possibly even
share a few. So thanks, Family, for being weird, so I feel a little bit more normal :)

This is the only pictures we managed to get at the last family reunion. It's not complete, but it's the best I have.

Friends: Where do I even start? After coming to college I have a new definition of friendship. True, my family is about 15 minutes away, but none of my college friends are so fortunate. There is a quote that Sarah and I put on our wall that says, "I've learned that your college friends are kinda like family. You eat together, you laugh together, you cry together, and sometimes you do nothing at all. But most of all, you can't seem to remember how you ever lived without them." Touché. (I always feel odd using that word. I'm not fencing. But it is a cool word, so I'm using it anyway.)

These are my best friends, or the ones I have easily accessible pictures of, anyway

Um...please don't be offended if I didn't put up a picture of you. I am running late to class, and don't have time to facebook stalk everyone at the moment

<3