Off, off and away...

...she goes! I was anxiously awaiting the arrival of my dear friend. You see, one of my best friends/roommates was flying in from Washington this morning and I was oober excited for her. When she finally showed up, I had to fight back tears. This pretty lady was a missionary and would soon be entering the MTC. The moment I saw her, I had flashback of July 24, 2012. We were sitting in her car, overlooking all of Utah Valley. Our eyes were fixed on the beautiful firework shows all around the valley. We talked about our lives, dreams, and what we wanted to be when we grew up. She confided in me about her love of the gospel and her dreams of being a missionary. Here we are now, 512 days later and she is a missionary. I bought her, her last Magleby's meal for the next 18 months. We sat at our booth, eating our lunch, and chatted. I sat in silence as everyone was talking. My mind was racing. I kept looking at her in admiration. We met here at the BC in fall of 2011. I didn't really know who she was, but I always admired her. From afar, she seemed like a very sweet, driven woman. Then on New Years Day, she sat by my roommate and I at church. We chatted for a bit. She later joined us for a movie night. I wrote her a love note about how much I admired her. After that day, we became friends. We've been on awkward double dates, laughed together, cried together, ate ice cream and butterscotch bars, watched fireworks, talked about boys. We were roommates, but better yet, we were best friends. She was one of the BEST influences on me. I learned so much from her. I learned to serve and have compassion on those around me. I learned to love the Gospel and to stay close to my Heavenly Father always. She always supported me, whether it was from sending me flowers and a love note or coming to my relief society lessons. She left me weird voice mails and told me random stories about work. We took her to the MTC, took one last picture, and gave her one last hug. She was off! She took her suitcases and walked away with her piers. My heart was bursting with excitement for her! I admit, a part of me left with her. I got back to my apartment and I felt kind of empty inside. But that's fine with me, because I know she's now a servant of the Lord. Baltimore, Maryland is lucky to have such a woman as Sister Pratt. God speed, Sister! I'll see you in 18 months!

[Summer '12]

[Fall '13]