:)
Yesterday I was musing, again, over the question..."WHY do we live in the Midwest?!" I would love, love, love it if we lived somewhere that was warm year-round! :)
Currently we are driving home from a fun weekend with friends....
And, by "we", naturally I mean Jer ;).
I'm sitting in the passenger seat, playing around on my phone....reading blogs, responding to work e-mail, and reading up on my training plan for the week and deciding what I am going to do running-wise after a milestone week last week.
Milestone week, you say? Ah yes....I ran 80.6 miles in 8 days! I ran 53.6 miles in a week! Lots and lots of running.
And yes....my legs are d e f i n i t e l y still sore :). Cramping up a bit as I sit in this car, too. But it's a GOOD thing. I feel accomplished when I hurt.
Anyway....
We love Great America/riding roller coasters in a major way...but haven't been for years. We talk about going each summer, but for one reason or another never end up being able to go or finalizing a real plan to go. We decided that we HAD to go this summer and made some plans....with Dan/Laura, Megan/Danny (who, very unfortunately, ended up not being able to go due to Danny's dad undergoing an emergency triple bypass surgery on Friday!), Brooke/Jamie, and Marty/Kelly (some of Brooke/Jamie's friends).
So Saturday night when J got off of work, we drove to Stillman Valley to stay with our friends Brooke and Jamie. It had been sooo long since I had seen Brooke. Far TOO long!
Brooke and I went to undergrad together at Augie and weren't exactly what anyone would consider "friends" by any stretch of the imagination. We both laugh about this now, seeing as (sorry, Brooke ;)) we are basically two extensions of the same person.
During undergrad, Brooke was cool. Really cool. She was a Phi Ro, one of the sorority girls belonging to not-even-really- arguably the group of the prettiest/most popular girls on Augie's campus. If anyone said they weren't....they were lying.
Me? I was in the band. While I definitely credit my participation in Symphonic Band and various music activities on campus as being instrumental (no pun intended!! ;)) in shaping me into the person I am today....we all know that being in the band isn't really "cool" to anyone, except for other music-people :).
So, yeah, we definitely ran with opposite crowds.
Long story short, I began as a first-year at Augie as a music ed major. Sophomore year I was in "limbo" as a floundering, confused not-a-girl-not-quite-a-woman type and called myself a "pre-pharm" major (insert hysterical laughter here, if you know me). Junior year...I finally got it together (at least declaring-a-major-wise ;)) and joined the Communication Sciences and Disorders department.
That's when I met Brooke.
Pretty. Popular. Super smart. Intimidating. Brooke.
We didn't really interact a whole lot....
I was coming in to the department late...and it, quite frankly, was kinda clique-y. There were about 13 or so of us CSD majors. Most of my time in the department was spent interacting with Melissa, Rosalee (one of my still nearest-and-dearest friends), and Dan.
Brooke was out of my league.
Looking back...clearly this was as much my "issue" as hers. Sure, she didn't really talk to me....but I didn't talk to her either for goodness' sakes!! Communication, friendship...all of that. It's a two-way street! Who was I to be bitter that I didn't feel included? Um, excuse me...make an effort, Rachel! Looking back, I regret not being more friendly, more approachable. Sure, I was nervous, intimidated, etc....but grow up! If only I would've, and we could've started this whole friendship thing sooner.
I came in from the outside....I hadn't been nurturing years-old dreams of becoming a Speech-Language Pathologist. I barely even knew what one was/did. I barely knew the difference between "speech" and "language." I wasn't related to anyone in the field. I was never in speech therapy as a child. I'm not related to anyone with a speech or language disorder.
I had to cram my schedule full of classes in order to graduate on time. I spent time with both my class and the class below me playing "catch-up." I didn't get straight A's, but I worked hard. In my major, I ended up graduating with a 3.8 GPA. I balanced classes (extra classes!), band rehearsal, private piano/voice/oboe lessons, work (I was an assistant manager at the Moline Culver's as well as a research assistant for a CSD professor and worked in the cafeteria), and teaching private oboe and piano lessons. So, while I would love to say I got straight A's (because I tend to error on the side of perfectionism)...I daresay it's kind of understandable that I didn't.
Later, when the time came to take the GRE....and the scores came back...I became suddenly even less popular in the group. I had earned a very high, possibly the highest in the department, GRE score. How could this be? The outsider? The underdog? She's actually a smart one??
Talk about uncomfortable. I've never been a fan of "sticking out"....and now it seemed as if everyone was talking about me. I can't even remember who I told my score to...I think just Melissa, actually. Well....word got out.
Isn't it funny what people talk about/gossip about?
Grad school applications....a time of drama in the department. Brooke and I both applied to and were accepted at Purdue University. Purdue was #3 in the country at the time for SLP graduate programs. The top three were Iowa, Northwestern (in Chi) and Purdue....I think. Actually, I think Purdue was tied for #2 with one of those schools and the other was #1. Heck if I know/remember. I didn't apply to the other two. I don't even really know why I thought I had any business of applying to Purdue...but I did, spurred on by the nudging of a professor and my still-mentor, Dr. Kathy Jakielski.
Well....as I said before....Brooke and I were both accepted into Purdue's graduate program. Before we were accepted, though, we decided to visit together. I drove us one Friday in January or February of 2005 (our senior year). We had a lot of time to get to know each other during that 5-ish hour drive.
We ended up arriving an hour late for the prospective-grad-student information day. Indiana is on Eastern time? They are an hour ahead of IL there? Who knew?? ;)
We both interviewed with Dr. Lisa Goffman for assistantships in her motor speech development research lab.
We both loved Purdue.
We both seemed to hit it off with the professors and the program in general.
During the ride back to the Quad Cities, we had more time to bond....more things to talk about. Excitement. A common interest/passion/dreams/hopes.
We endured driving through a somewhat terrifying winter snow storm on the way back together. It was BAD! BAD BAD BAD!
My mother, actually, advised us not to make the trek...but like any head-strong college girl, I opted to follow my own judgement and make the trip back.
We endured wind, snow, frozen windshield wipers, etc.
But, more importantly, through that seemingly insignificant drive...we began to forge a friendship.
We got our acceptance letters in March and subsequently both independently decided to accept the invitations to study at Purdue.
By doing so...we would both be leaping into long-distance relationships with our then-boyfriends (now-husbands). We would be traveling far from our respective families and friends. Traveling to a school MUCH bigger than anything we'd ever known.
We both grew up in small towns. Neighboring towns, actually. She was from Stillman Valley; me--Winnebago. The towns are approximately 20 minutes from one another and are both in the Rockford area. We were in the same IHSA conference, but had not actually met one another until college.
Our first weeks living together were somewhat miserable.
Move-in day...emotions were high.
We couldn't stand each other, really.
Some mornings (we laugh about this now!) we would get up, use our shared apartment bathroom, get breakfast, pack lunches for the day, get in one of our cars, and drive to class....without ever even speaking a word to one another.
Not morning people?
Understatement of the YEAR.
But...after time...we became the closest of friends.
Crying, laughing. Drinking, laughing. Cooking, planning therapy, laughing. Loving. Planning weddings. Venting, crying more. Sharing secrets, hopes, dreams, ideas.
For approximately 21 months we shared lives with one another, living under the same roof. Studying in the same program. Working in the same research assistantship. Forming very similar (if not identical) philosophies on child speech and language development and the treatment of a variety of communication disorders. Working out together in the same gym. Running together on the same trails. Eating the same food. Cleaning the same apartment. Battling similar inner demons. Loving fiances who lived hours away. Planned social events for our classmates/colleagues. Watched Grey's Anatomy and Lost together. Attended aerobics classes together. Gorged ourselves on cheese puffs together. Drove home together to visit family/friends/fiances.
Together...we made it through some of the toughest and most formative years of our lives.
We made it through...together. And, without her...I would not have been able to do it.
We now share twin degrees....both a BA from Augustana and an MS from Purdue. Pretty good in the academic world.
But, even more valuable than those pieces of paper...I made a life-long friend.
I consider her to be an extension of myself. Someone I can count on to give me good advice, a shoulder to cry on. Someone who can tell the most hilarious stories.
Friend. Colleague. Sister, almost. Sounding board. Advice-giver. All-around beautiful person.
I am thankful to have Brooke in my life...
I just wish she lived CLOSER...and that we got to see each other more OFTEN! :)
This weekend was great...
Friends. Family. Roller coasters. Cheese puffs. Therapy talk. Laughter.
Joy.
Photos of Brooke and I over the past few years.....
~Brookie and me at Scotty's (a favorite restaurant in West Lafayette) one of our first nights in Indiana. Don't we look SO YOUNG and little?! And, by the way, I'd kill to fit into that shirt again ;).
~Brooke and I before going out one night during grad school. Trying to look all hard and bad. HA!
~We LOVED to entertain friends/colleagues in our apartment. Really, we did ;). We took this picture one evening shortly after a party that really wore us out. "Welcome Friends"?? As IF! ;) HAHA!!!
~Me with Brooke in front of our apartment :).
~August of 2007...Chicago Skyline! We were in Chicago for one of Brooke's bridal showers.
~This picture cracks me up...
It was taken before my wedding and totally looks like Brooke is giving me an earful of advice ;).
~Brooke with me before my wedding! I was honored to have her stand up with me during my wedding and to stand up with her during her wedding to Jamie one month prior! :)
So....thanks for everything, Brooke! Here's to many, many more years of friendship!! :)
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