Goodbyes.

Today, I was able to go to one of my dear friend's missionary farewells. Drew and I have been friends since... Well, I can't even remember since when, but it's been a long time. We were on Student Council together during our Senior Year and be came even closer that year- not to mention seeing him all the time at BYU. The picture of us accurately displays our relationship.... He's calm and collected, and I'm being a weirdo crazy person. It's a good relationship.

Anyway, what I'm getting at is how incredibly blessed I am to have Drew, among many of my other close guy friends in my life. As I head back up to college, I'm leaving behind a good number of my guy friends because they are leaving on missions and not returning to BYU. As Drew concluded his talk in church, I could't hold back the silent tears that fell down my face. They were tears filled with so many emotions. Pride in the way I've seen my friends live their lives, happiness that they are giving up two years of their lives in the service of our lord, and sadness to see them go, since they've been there for me throughout my life. I never realized tears could hold so much.

As I move on in life, so many things change- I can already see it. The boys are going to places like South Korea on their missions, the girls are going to school and forging their own ways in life, and we all just keep pushing on. Pushing on to do the Lord's work, pushing on to be a better person, pushing on to fulfill our hopes and dreams. It all zooms by so fast and one second I'm texting my best friend at three in the morning, and the next, he's out in Argentina teaching the gospel- I feel like I have hardly had enough time to tell everyone how much they mean to me before they move onto their next big adventure. And at the same time, I couldn't be more proud of my friends. I can't wait to hear the stories about learning chinese from Aaron, and the crazy foods that Lane will eat. I know that Eric will be in love with the culture of Bulgaria and that Drew will be the Spaniard's greatest friend. My friends are going places, and they're place where they will changes lives and become men. I'm so proud of each one of them and can't wait to see what the Lord has in store for them- I know it is miraculous.

Love always,
Ems