You know, all throughout your life there are people who deeply touch you and affect you.  They inspire you to be who you are and what you are.  Oftentimes they tell you when you're making a right choice and when you're just being plain stupid.  They're there to help you and pick you up when you fall.  Most of all, they're there for moral support and to be there whenever you need them.  I hope that I am as good of a friend as these people are to me.  Surely I am not the most popular person and do not have the most friends, but mine are definitely the best out of all of them.  They would never backstab me and they would never hurt me.  I may hurt them accidentally and they may hurt me, but never on purpose and it never goes without an apology, a weepy make up session, or a hug.  Here's lots of love to my friends.

Jaime

2-3-00

You are my sight when I am blind
When I refuse to ssee the truth in front of me
And you are my ears when I am deaf
When I refuse to hear the world around me
You protect me from my own wickedness
When I can't understand my eventual fall fromg race
And you defend my life with your own
WHen I cannot fight on my own.
Thank you so much for being here for me
I never let you know how much it means to me
So thank you and I love you as my friend.
You're everything I want to be
Strong and spirited
I feel that I am weak and passoinate.
But you pick me up when I fall flat on my ass
And you never chew me out for my stupidity.
Even when I hurt you, you find a way to forgiv eme
I appreciate you so much.
You never know what you have until it's gone
I hope I never lost you for I fear I'd die
Life would be boring and gray
Because you are the color.
It must have been planned for us to become friends
You are my inspiration and you are my angel
Although we are not always angelic, you watch out for me.
I don't know where I'd be without you
Lost and desolate without a place to run to
You're my haven from the storm within myself
My hope for the future and everything I need.
Thank you for all you've given me and will give
I love you so much and care so deeply
Best friends forever
        Amen.

It's true, you're always there when I need you.  This is my special tribute to you Jaime.  :)  Whenever I need to talk just because or need to vent, she's there for me.  I hope that she knows that I am always here for her too whenever she needs me.  We know what the other one is thinking and feeling and we know when something's wrong.  And we can tell each other to shut up, to stop that, don't do that, or go for that without worrying if we'll hurt each other's feelings.  We've fought, we've made up, we've had serious talks about the rest of our lives, there's nothing we can hide from each other.  We're practically identical twins (emotionally/intellectually/spiritually) in how we think and feel.  We feel free to call our family each othe'rs family and I call her mom my mom.  Jaime is the best friend I have ever had, and I mean that.  Even when I was little and Helen helped me write my first love letter, or Lisa in 3rd grade when I had no one else to play with.  Jaime has always been there for me, never abandoned me.  So thanks Jaime, for always being there.  You're the best!!! And you rock.  :)
 

Nick

I remember when we first met, it was kind of weird.  You used to give me rides home from church and there was usually dead silence unless I said something.  So I started to confide in you and you gave me advice.  This is how our friendship started to grow.  Pretty soon I was talking to you all the time and shocking you with the things I said (of course, now you're so used to it that I shock you if I don't say anything!).  You gave me advice and told me things from a guy's perspective.  Within months you were one of my closest friends.  We went to games together and went out to the movies, we talked on the phone and even cruised Broadway together w/Jaime.  You were too shy to hit on anyone, so we did it for you.  :)  Not that it helped any, but at least we tried.  :)  You helped us move during Christmas vacation when I knew there were probably other things you could have been doing.  And you let me whine about the boys I was crushing on and having 'relationship difficulties' with.  You even let me kind of set you up with Jessica and you always let me babble on.  You're the greatest and one of the closest guy friends I have.  Thanks for everything, thanks for listening, and most of all, thanks for not thinking I was some psycho girl that never shut up.  Even though we know that's partially true (we're just not sure on which part is more true :)) , thanks.

Andy

You're my study hall bud, my Homecoming date, and the person I could always talk to.  Even when I talked about nothing, talked about whatever popped up in my mind, you never pretended to not know me.  You dressed up like a monkey in the box for Halloween, let us squish your banana and then run over it with the car, and you even let us use your car for the Homecoming parade.  There were lots of good times and I'm glad that we got to be such good friends in our last year of highschool.  You let me cuddle up in your jacket when we saw "Pitch Black" even though I had to share it with Jaime, and you even pretended to be my boyfriend whenever I started to hit on you.  :)  You never minded when I got friendly or when I even sat on your lap.  Thanks for your friendship and I hope we never lose it.  :)
 
 
 

Ben
I know that our friendship has kind of been limited, but it's still a close relationship.  We hardly ever talk on the phone, but when we do, it's for hours (well, longer than I expect) and always about the important stuff.  We never fluff with each other and we always get right to the point.  I trust you with my secrets and you trust me with yours.  There's this closeness that we possess and it's nice to know that someone out there thinks like I do and understands the quirky way I deal with life.  We both overanalyze and make issues out of the small stuff.  Deciding on what to wear is as big of an issue for us as to where to take our boyf/girlf for Valentine's Day.  There's just something about you that makes life so less stressful.  You're down to earth and yet you're not without a care and you know what I mean when I can't find the words.  We know what it's like to change and to have our point of views shift from one side of the spectrum to the other.  And we understand that life still goes on if we mess up and if we break a rule or two.  We agree on things but yet we never hesitate to disagree.  You're there when I need you, even if it isn't asap, it's still soon.  Our get togethers are few but still have meaning.  Eating lunch together is always interesting whether it be at the Giant Panda or in the park.  And talking to you is always the best.  You have good advice for me and you're usually right when I think about it :)  You've helped me understand Kris and his ways and how to deal with boys in general.  I hope I've helped you like you've helped me.  Always and forever, you'll be my friend.  :)

Kelly

Funny how you bond with people in college that you barely talked to in high-school.  Well, we talked, but now we're like, actually good friends.  :)  You've totaly been there for me when I needed someone to talk to.  I mean, the whole ROB thing and then that other thing....you've been the best.  And I'm glad that we're going to the same college and that you're usually always a phone call away.  :)  Hopefully this friendship lasts a really long time because I appreciate how much you've been there for me.  You've proven to be the faithful friend.  Not that nobody else has, but you've stayed by me when the chips were low (and I mean LOW) and you were there when Heaven was like-right there for me.  We've had our thing with boys, with drinking, with life.  And we're still here.  You're one of my closest friends and I'm glad that we've become better friends.  You da shit!!!!  Keep in touch over the summer!!!!!!!

Tony

How could i ever forget you?  You were my Prom date, i picked you up w/my friends in the middle of nowhere moorhead in a deserted parking lot, and we've had a lot of good times.  I remember that you were the first boy to ever confuse the hell out of me and i was never really sure where i stood with you.  Sometimes I thought that you liked me, other times i thought that you couldn't care less.  And I remember the day that I called you and asked you about it.  I think that's when we started to actually get close and got to know each other.  I'm thankful for your friendship and the fact that we are so close.  Is there anything that we haven't done together?  Okay, except for that (and you know what i'm talking about) and maybe a few other things.  But seriously, we've been through stuff and I love you for it.  Prom kicked ass because i had the best date there :)  I'm really glad that we went together because otherwise it probably would have sucked, but you definitely made it worthwhile.
 

Lindsay
I think that you were one of the first people I met.  We were out smoking in the Pit and decided to introduce ourselves to everyone.  that was pretty damn fun.  And then we went to our first party together....with Tom and Adam.  That was pretty tight.  What else did we do?  I don't remember everything, but it was always fun as hell.  You're a great person and I'm so glad that we're friends.  I don't know what I'd do without you.  Whenever we have our emotional drunken nights, it's together.  And that's great that we get along so well.  Thanks for being there and I hope that you can depend on me like I depend on you.

Stacie
You are the SHIT man.  You are the best roommate and I love you to death.  We used to party up in your room when you lived practically all by yourself.  I think I met you when I was outside w/Lindsay or sometime like that.  We get along so well.  I'm really glad that you moved in and that we're getting an apartment with Lindsay and Steph next year.  It's gonna KICK ASS man.  Hopefully we don't kill each other!  Just kidding.
 
 

Rob

"Thanks"

Thanks for your love
Thanks for your thoughts
Thanks for the kindness I never thought I'd find
Thanks for the universe I could lose myself in
Thanks for the lessons taught
Thanks for the memories learned
Thanks for truth and beauty
Thanks for the all the lies
Thank you for hate reversed
Thank you for friendship lost than found
Thank you for forgiveness
Thank you for all.

This describes how I feel.  We've been hating each other and enemies for so long.  It's about TIME we made up and became friends.  I do miss the way we have these incredibly in-depth conversations and just know what the other still thinks.  You don't have to ask me now and I certainly never had to ask you.  We've been spending a lot of time together to make up for those months of barely acknowledging each other.  It's been crazy I tell you.  So-thanks for being such a cool guy and it's all right that we hated each other.  Because you know, if we didn't hate each other, I don't think I'd appreciate this friendship as much.  And you know I don't think that anything doesn't happen for no reason and such.  SO-hopefully this friendship goes well.
 

Kris

You are like-I don't know.  Superman?  A superhero?  I know that things were pretty rocky between us after we broke up.  And I so desperately wanted to stay friends with you but I don't know if I was too pushy or maybe we weren't ready.  But then when we did start talking again-it was all cool.  I have to say that I admire you for a lot of things.  You are so real and when you talk about something you believe in-it's unbelievable.  I can't believe how great you are and I never noticed it until now.  Of course, I am saying this on slightly biased terms.  But that's okay.  My friends love you (most of them; but the ones that don't can't see your greatness) and Rob thinks I love you.  Which is craziness but who knows.  I remember when I first met you and started talking to you, I wanted so badly to be a better person for you.  Because I thought that you were so- so much better than I was and just-I had this feeling that I had to be great for you.  Of course, I still kind of feeling like this....but that's besides the point.  I've laid it all out on the table, you know what I mean, so if it comes to nothing, I will live.  And if it comes to something...well, you can only imagine what will happen.  With that being said, I think I've said my part, and will leave it up to you.  And you are a great friend, I'm glad that you're here.
 

Mike

You are the goofiest person I know...well, besides Stacie anyway.  :)  From crush to friend and back again, you remain the same.  Always quick with a comeback, a remark, some kind of phrase, you make me (and other people) smile.  Even when I'm not all there and all over you, you are still quite the gentleman like I've stated before.  Hopefully this friendship we've started keeps up and doesn't fade away like so many things do.