"A friend is a person with whom I may be sincere. Before him I may think aloud." ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

I recently realized that Winter semesters, in spite of the snow, have always been my best semesters, usually due to the people I meet and spend time with. My freshman year, I had a great guy friend that I spent a ton of time with, who taught me a ton before leaving the following summer on his mission. My sophomore year, one my best friends moved into my ward, and we began what continues to be a wonderful friendship. Last year, a guy I didn’t know became my home teacher, and soon a very good friend.

This year, the trend continues! I have the greatest home teachers in the world, and as I have gotten to know them, I have made some very dear friends. It has been such a joy to sit around and talk, watch movies, plan fun activities, laugh, sing, and just enjoy life with each other!

This past weekend, as Part II of March Madness, we took off to Moab for their annual Half Marathon. I even took a personal day from work so I could enjoy myself completely. It was an absolutely AMAZING weekend! No offense to anyone else who went, but, I got to ride down with the coolest people! Betsy, Shari, Mike, John, and I passed the time singing to fun music, playing the semi-truck and road kill games, taking pictures, and coming up with song titles for a band John and some friends are starting on the way down. We picked a beautiful campsite right across the Colorado River from Canyonlands National Park. We stopped at two different spots to check out Indian Writing in the canyon and set up camp quickly before heading off to explore two arches that were just across the road from our campsite. It was a fun hike with phenomenal views! We went to dinner and heard some 3-year-olds, and milkshake machines make some interesting noises that made me roll on the floor laughing. Camping was of course wonderful. There was no moon, and although the clouds crept in late that night, we were able to enjoy the stars for awhile, and even look out of the back of our galaxy!

The next day was the Half Marathon, and we went into Moab to see our six friends who were running the 5 K and the marathon come in. As we drove into town, we blasted Footloose for the runners that we passed. Some of our friends even came up with a hilarious cheer: “Run! Run! Run like a squirrel!” We’re not sure what’s admirable about squirrels running, but, it sure made us happy to hear it, and even made some very tired runners laugh! After the race we went to explore some dinosaur tracks, and then on to Arches. It was a first for several people, and we had a blast climbing the Windows and taking fun pictures.

On the way home we enjoyed similar games. We stopped in Price at JB’s for dinner. That was fun and entertaining – something to do with Shamu on the freeway, fake kissing, and hot faces – well, I guess you had to be there, but, trust me, it was great! J We were shocked to be met with snow when we started through Spanish Fork Canyon, but, continued singing at the top of our lungs, and looking for potential road kill to avoid. We were all exhausted when we got home, but, I think I speak for all of us when I say that we didn’t want it to end. So much so, in fact, that there were several bursts of muffled giggles during sacrament meeting the next morning. :)

As I’ve thought about it recently, I’ve been so moved. I feel so very blessed to be where I am, with the friends that I have. We’ve all been told to marry someone that makes you want to be a better person. Well, I don’t think it could hurt to surround yourself with those people now. And literally, I want to be a better person because of the people I am surrounded by – I want to read my scriptures, go to the temple, and pray more, listen to good music, watch good movies and TV shows, do challenging things, and practice the piano more just because I see my friends do those things – not in a judgmental or hypocritical way, but simply doing it because they know it’s right and good. I am so happy – I find myself smiling and laughing to myself for no reason other than that a memory of a friend has crossed my mind!

So I close with the words from a favorite hymn, because it expresses the feelings of my heart in a way that I can’t find the words for:

“For worthy friends whose lives proclaim

Devotion to the Savior’s name,

Who bless our days with peace and love.

We praise thy goodness, Lord, above.”