Everything You Need to Know About Emily

Okay, this isn’t actually everything you need to know about Emily, (I don’t have time to write everything, it’s her birthday, people. We are way too busy having fun) but here are a few quick things.  Plus, one thing about Emily is that she’ll appreciate a good attempt at an alliterative title, or something like that. She’s cool like that. She is also my best friend.

Emily’s birthday is today.

Emily and I were partners in a very cute ballet recital when we just four years old, dancing to “Love Me Do” by the Beatles.  Ten years later, we somewhat randomly decided to be eighth grade locker partners.  And now, another five years after that, we are rooming in a very festively decorated apartment together at college.  I kind of know a lot about Emily.

Emily is there for you, even when you don’t really deserve it.  Emily has your back.  When we were locker partners at age fourteen, we would get to our locker in between every class and explain all the embarrassing things that happened in that class to each other, so as to laugh about it all together instead of feeling stupid about our entire existence, as most fourteen-year-olds would.  Emily’s laughing support through eighth grade classes has beautified into a kind of support that only a true friend would have to offer. As members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day-Saints, part of what we promise to do is to “mourn with those that mourn” and “comfort those that stand in need of comfort.”  Emily has been my main source of understanding and comfort multiple times during our fifteen-year friendship.  She is angelic that way.

Emily gets it.  She gets things.  She’s really intelligent, both academically and spiritually.  She’s always striving to understand more and think more, while still maintaining a joyful attitude. So many people want so badly to not be ignorant that they like to think about deep, dark things and be really concerned about the state of humanity and stuff.  I myself am guilty of this! But Emily is able to think and live on an intellectual level, while still being so happy. She has the most encouraging “it’s gonna be okay” attitude ever.  So here I am, worrying about everything from the current joke of a political situation to the fact that I probably ate that entire sleeve of Oreos by myself, and there Emily is, telling me everything is going to fine, and reminding me that it’s okay to not be so serious all the time. This is not to say that she blissfully ignores the hard facts of life, but that she focuses on the good.

Emily has the gift of hope. In fact, her very countenance exudes it through her ceaseless optimism.  Like I said, she focuses on the good.  She does good, exudes good, and truly has a desire to continue doing and spreading good.  I love that about her.  After spending an evening with Emily, I drive home with this tingling glint of excitement.  I remember on one particular occasion, Emily and I had just seen a very well-advertised chick flick that was everything we hoped it would be and more, and as I drove home I attempted to pin point why I was so excited. I didn’t have any particular reason to be excited! Nothing uber great was coming up in the near future; I just had to go to work my really kind of boring summer job the next day. But I was so excited, as though something great was coming up.  What was that about?  After a few minutes into the drive, I realized that I was so excited simply because Emily reminds me that there is always a lot to be excited about.  With her glittery eye shadow and zest for life, she spreads joy to all around her.  And there’s just about nothing more delightful than the way she smiles and laughs.

Emily is the type of person that does thing like jump for joy at a cute dress.  She glows with excitement at a particularly informative verse of scripture. She loves God. Emily is prayerful and joyful. She loves people and works to love them more. She is a beautiful person all around.  In fact, C.S. Lewis once said, “In friendship…we think we have chosen our peers. In reality a few year’s difference in the date of our birth, a few more miles between certain houses, a choice of one university instead of another…the accident of a topic being raised or not raised at a first meeting—any of these chances might have kept us apart. But, for a Christian, there are, strictly speaking, no chances. A master of ceremonies has been at work. Christ who said to the disciples, ‘you have not chosen me, but I have chosen you,’ can truly be said to every group of friends, ‘you have not chosen one another, but I have chosen you for one another.’ The friendship is not a reward for our discrimination and good taste in finding one another out. It is the instrument by which God reveals to each the beauty of others.”
I wish that someday Emily will know how thankful I am to her for teaching me the meaning of true friendship, true fun, true optimism, and really, true love. Happy Birthday, dear friend.