girl

i have this incredible friend and her name is Elise Delgado. i never truly realized just how incredible she was until very recently but when i actually sat down and thought about it all signs from the day i met her pointed to it. i met her in the 8th grade in Leadership class. leadership was a really fun class where we planned school activities and it was selective so everyone in it was pretty great. Elise and i were paired together, just the two of us, to a committee whose job was to make a calendar and some sort of informative add every month for a display case near the elevator. i was just coming into my own as a person and not even close to being an artist, not to mention i really did not know Elise at all, so i was very nervous about the whole deal. there really was no reason for the nerves. i don't even remember any really specific incidents during that time but i know that the entire time i had fun with Elise, worked well with her, and admired her from the get go.
Elise and i ended up going to the same high school. for a short time freshmen year i mainly hungout with a group of girls which she was one of. this was when i first learned about her up front, sort of brutally honest character. being in my insecure freshmen stage i really didn't know how to deal with it and therefore i ran away from Elise and those other girls. this was a huge mistake. through out high school i didn't really spend too much time with Elise but any time i did spend with her i felt good about. she, being a lot like me, appreciated my honest, usually cynical comments. she always laughed at them which was my goal in even saying them. i witnessed her intense concern and dedication to her friends, including myself if there ever were any problems. i saw her dedication and loyalty to her family and anything she ever did: school work, clubs, sports, etc.
senior year our school participated in the Every 15 Minutes Program which is a campaign to educate teens and prevent drunk driving. Elise's dad is a teacher at our high school so their family was chosen to be involved with E15. Elise and her father were in the simulated car crash and Elise was chosen to be the girl who ended up in a wheel chair. although the entire thing was fake i cried so much watching that video and seeing Elise, a star athlete and energetic friend, come down the aisle unable to walk. i questioned why i was even crying this much. yes the event was tragic, but it was fake. i thought i wasn't even close enough to her to be so intensely sad.
a couple days ago i discovered that my vacation plans conflicted with her going away party and my instinct was to find any way possible to see her before i left because i couldn't imagine never seeing her before the both of us left. i had originally given first priority to trying to see my best friend Brian before i left, but Elise became top priority. the jump felt a little weird in my mind but i just texted her and made the plans. i felt that i would drive 100 miles if that was what i had to do.
tonight it hit me. the story i just told about Elise makes it so obvious that Elise is one of the greatest friends i have. i don't mean that i feel closest to Elise. she definitely spends a lot more time with other people and we don't exactly talk super often but i admire Elise much more than a lot of people. she never makes me feel bad about the way i am. if she does it is in a gentle way which makes me see what i am doing wrong and inspires me to do better. she inspires me to be good because she holds the same honesty that i do but is so wise in the way she uses it. i love knowing people like Elise; genuinely great people who not only inspire me but also so many other people. tonight is probably the last time i will get to see her before we both leave for college and that makes me cry, but i know that when we come back for holidays she will be there and i will look forward to hearing from her and seeing her.

Music: Resolution - Jack's Mannequin