Best Friend

It was August of 1998 and I was eagerly getting ready for my freshman year at Texas Tech. My roommate hadn’t moved into our dorm room yet, so I left my door open hoping to meet some people before classes started the next week. Next thing I know a strange girl walked in my room to see if I liked her outfit for her sorority rush party. Little did I know this conversation would start an amazing friendship. This strange girl that walked through my into my dorm room was Natalie. Natalie lived directly across the hall and we were one of the few rooms on the hall who’s doors lined up with each other. It’s like God meant for us to be connect from the start but understood that we would kill each other if we were roommates. Natalie was my complete opposite and we became great friends right away. I don’t know if it was the fact that we were surviving our first year at college together(away from home) that made us such great friends, but we had so much fun together. We ended up becoming sorority sisters, shared a big sister in the sorority(mine adopted her), partied together, visited each other’s homes(she was from Wichita Falls), got into trouble together, and grew to love Texas Tech and Lubbock together. It’s even because of Natalie and her fiancé that I met Chris. Before I finish the story I will take you on a photo journey of some of our fun. I really enjoyed going back through my college photo albums and laughing at all the fun times I had in the dorms with my 4th East girls! Oh how I hope that one day Taylor gets to experience the bond you build with friends in a dorm!

This is from our very first fraternity party. I told Chris that only fraternity boys would think that a stop sign and beer cases make for a backdrop. After this picture my Mom started requesting that I leave the red cups out of pictures. She understood that I drank in college, but didn’t needed to be reminded of it and she wanted a few photos for her desk at work.

I threw this one in there bc this was from that same party but a year before I ever met Chris. It is a picture of some of my sorority sisters and a few random frat guys that jumped in. It took me a year to find out who the guy right below me is. For those of you who don’t recognize him… it’s Chris!

She would kill me for including pictures of her without makeup, but these were typical days with us in the dorm. Both our roommates moved out early so we had our rooms to ourselves, but she did everything but sleep in mine. I would actually leave my door cracked so she could come in and use my computer. In those days it was a big deal to have your own computer. She had a cell phone so I thought she was cool.

I sure did love that purple sweater set and thought I was pretty cool wearing it to frat parties!

I wore the dress from my brother’s wedding to our spring formal and we had the glove picture planned before we even got there. The photographer was awesome and played along with all our fun. I regret not buying the one where I was on the grand piano. She really brought out my fun side and I made sure we didn’t get arrested.

The picture on the left is actually still in a frame on my fridge. On the right is Natalie and my Mom. Natalie came up with the name ‘Momma D’ for my Mom and decided that if my brother ever had kids that she needed to be Nana D. Well, she’s carried that on and is now Nana to my nieces and Taylor.

Typical Nat and Ren(my nickname) pose

I don’t know who took this picture with my camera but it is perfect of us. We always butted headed and were stubborn with each other. It was just part of who we were and how our friendship worked.

Natalie and her fiance(one of Chris’ frat bros) with Chris and I shortly after we started dating; snuggled up in the wee hours of the morning getting ready for SAE Chili Cook-off, yes that is a keg next to us!; at our first Pi Kapp formal together, we were so excited to be dating frat bros and go to these together. These pictures were all from our last semester together.

This last picture still sits in the frame she gave me. I’ve never changed the picture. The frame says:

A best friend is a gift to cherish forever. It’s a special bond that crosses the boundaries of time and distance. Time pass, but a best friend in constant in a world of change. Like a fine wine or vintage car, our friendship gets better with age. Life may have it’s ups and downs but our shared dreams last a lifetime. I don’t thank you enough. I don’t know where I’d be without my best friend.

Ten years ago today I had to learn what life would be like without my best friend. It was days before we were to leave and go back for the spring semester of our sophomore year of college. We had just celebrated the Y2K and lived to tell about it. We both were with the love of our lives and starting to dream about what our futures would hold. When we would get married, where we would live, how we would raise our kids together and make them love Texas Tech just as much as we did. Then as quickly as she walked into my dorm room that day she was taken from us. I know now that God had a plan for her but it doesn’t mean that I don’t still miss her dearly. I wonder if our kids would be the same age or how our pictures now would look compared to ten/eleven years ago. I wonder how many more wild adventures we would have gotten into. Just wanted to let you know about an amazing friend and someone who helped make me the person I am today. The world missed out on not getting to have you longer but benefited from the short time you were here with us!

I love and miss ya Nat!