My Best Friend

My best friend's name is Kim.

 But you already knew that, right? ;)

She had a birthday and has now been on the earth for 23 years... We're waiting for Taylor to write a song called "23"... C'mon Tay....

Kim & I met in high school, but didn't talk a whole lot. We had a class together, but she was one of those girls I thought was way too pretty and funny to want to be friends with me, even though I really wanted to be friends with her. Stinkin' high school thinking, glad that's over with.

 Us on graduation night. We so little!

A couple years after high school, I started lap swimming at the fitness center where she works. She'd check me in once a week or so. It was those kinda awkward 'I know you, but I don't know you, and I don't know if you know that I know you' type deals. So we'd smile, say hi and leave it at that. 

Eventually we became better acquaintances, chatting now and then at the fitness center. Then one day, she was having the worst time- worst time, people. Luckily, her work was slow, so we sat and talked about it for a while. My heart broke for her. She was experiencing a serious challenge that wouldn't be over for months and months.

After that heart-to-heart, we basically became bffs. She's the greatest.

Having female friends as a female yourself, can be kind of challenging. It's not hard to find someone to be 'friends' with, but to find someone who actually is a friend, is something else. Throughout my life I've had 'friends'; 'friends' that have said,

"Geez, Karinne, you're so skinny", as if my smaller frame was an awful thing... 

"Oh you like that boy? Well he said he liked me, not you."

"Why do all the boys like you? It's kind of annoying."

& when I was struggling with something so heavy and had called, sent texts poured my heart out, asking for help from the one I considered my closest friend, no response until 2 days later; a text saying, "I'm sorry." Period. That was it.

Some of those words were said to me post high school graduation. All that girl silliness doesn't stop after the diplomas are handed out, sadly. Luckily, Kim is the opposite of those girls. She is happy for me when good things happen to me. That sounds so silly right? Well duh, she's your friend, she's suppose to be. I've had plenty of girls be envious and mad when things go my way. Not Kim. That's one thing I love so much about her. She genuinely loves everyone and wants good things to happen to every human being on the earth. She has such a big heart. One of the biggest. When she loves & cares for people, she's loves & cares for them deeeeep. It's quite a gift. I hope one day to have the kind of heart she does. She'll say she cries too much, but I don't think most people cry enough. Tears equate to love. & she is full of love.

At her work a patron was mean to her, telling her boss she wasn't very nice (if you know Kim at all, you know she hasn't a rude bone in her body.) I was mad that the patron would say that, because it was just plain silly, kim tries so hard to treat everyone with kindness. But Kim's response was, "I wish I knew who it was so I could apologize for making her feel bad. Tomorrow at work, I'm going to be so nice to everyone that walks in the door. I'll have to biggest smile on my face all day." & she did :)

 

This is her motto.

She doesn't just say it; her life reflects it.

She's the least judgmental person I know. She doesn't care what people's backgrounds, beliefs, or lifestyles are; she'll love them. She doesn't speak unkindly about people; she's a breath of fresh air.

The second I need her, she's there. She's there; she listens, relates, and offers her advice & serious infinite wisdom. Last year I had an awful day and was texting her about it. She had just got off work and came straight to my work to see me. I thanked her for dropping everything and coming, and she looked at me like I was crazy and said, "Well yeah Rinney, that's what friends are for!" Because to her and her kind heart, coming and seeing me was the only option. She stayed for such a long time, talking things through with me. She helped lift my spirits so much.

 

One of the things she's said to me, that has impacted me the most goes as follows;

Once upon a time, I had a little romance going on. & I was really excited about this boy... I had liked him for so long, and had waited for the timing to be right for suuuuuch a long time. Finally, I felt like it was our time, and I thought he felt the same. Turns out he wasn't as excited about me as I was about him; he had a girlfriend, but hadn't bothered to tell me & continued to act as if we were starting something. So there I was, feeling so stupid, so used, and so foolish. I was texting kim about it. & I'll never forget what she said. She said, "Rin, he's going to come back to you, he is. You just make sure when he does, you don't take him back, don't make it easy for him. If he truly wants to be with you, he can prove it to you. You deserve the best. You deserve to be someone's first choice, not to be someone's backup plan."

That hit me like a ton of bricks.

She knows me. She knew I was weak in that spot. She knew how much I wanted to be with him, and knew that if he asked me, I'd take him back. Because when I'm in something, it's hard for me to see anything else- I'm working on that. She knew that, and knew how to stop me from making a mistake. She's a gem.

She is one of the funniest gals I know. She's always saying, "I don't know why you're friends with me, I'm such a weirdo." Kills me haha. This is basically how we look 98% of the time we're together....

 Not even kidding.

Even when you lock your keys and her keys in your car, in the middle of f.r.e.e.z.i.n.g winter & you don't have a spare key to your car, so neither one of you have your car, purse, or wallet for a day, she forgives you & laughs it off.

Kim is such a strong woman. She needs one of those shirts that read, "small, but mighty". One Sunday she came to my ward. I was teaching Sunday school, and I think we were discussing faith. We were talking about the trials in our lives, and how we can stay strong in spite of them. She made a comment with some serious passion. She said how grateful she is for all of her struggles, because she knows by the end of it, she'll be so much stronger- it's a strengthening process. She's glad she has trials, because it gives her an opportunity to grow. If that's not the best outlook on the hardships of life, I don't know what is. She's had her fair share of struggles, trials, hardships, whatever you want to call them. & she always comes out on top, like a champion. Even in the midst of her hardships, she thinks of other people. She'll say, "I'm so selfish. There are so many people with problems worst than me." or after we've been talking about hard things she's dealing with, she'll say, "Rin I'm so sorry, I didn't even ask you how you are doing!" She's a doll.

She focuses on improving herself. I think for some reason, a lot of people think when you're 'an adult' you're done growing. You're an adult and that's it, you made it! When really, we all should be learning until the day we take our last breath on this earth. Kim strives for progression. She works on things to improve within herself which is something I admire so much about her.

Basically what I'm saying is, Kim is some serious sunshine in this world.

 Happy birthday Kim! You're the best best friend a girl could ask for!

Long live the walls we crashed through, I had the time of my life with you.

 Love you bff.