Anna

So I've been (and am still here) in California this winter break. And it's been quite lovely, really. We've gone around LA, and I've now been to Hollywood. (Look for me there in the near -or extremely distant- future.) Mario the tour guide was not only false on many "facts" he told us, but he also wouldn't shut up. I got to walk around 4 beautiful beaches: Venice, Santa Monica, Zuma, and Coronado. Universal Studios on Christmas day was infested with Mexicans, Indians (Namaste, brethrens) and and Chinese/Japanese/Koreans/what have you. But the highlight of my visit to SoCal was visiting one of my best friends, Anna, in the beautiful island haven of Coronado.

Let me expand on Anna for quite some time.

She is someone that once you spend a day with, you want to be exactly like. She's drop dead gorgeous naturally (I asked her. She wasn't wearing any make up when I saw her. Feel free to hate now.) She is *so* smart. Her passions are unique and the perfect fit for her. She takes amazing pictures on her cool and dandy camera. Although I don't actually know the definition of a hipster, she is most definitely a hipster. Her style is one-of-a-kind, just like her. Try to buy the same clothes as her from the random boutiques she goes to, fine. I can guarantee you that you will not look as good as her. Anna is a blonde haired blue eyed beauty.

But those are only her exterior qualities. What really makes me, and everyone who is lucky enough to encounter her ora, love her so much is her personality, her heart. Anna honestly lives every day to its fullest. Verbatim as she said it, she tries to find the good in any restriction she faces. She is a leader. You can't help but want to follow in her footsteps. She is confident. She knows what she wants in life and goes for it with her all. In the one afternoon that I was fortunate enough to spend with her, she reassured me of any flaws I have (if you know me, you know how many I have and how self conscious I am. So that much reassuring in one afternoon is quite phenomenal.) I filled her in on all the passive drama that I've experienced this year and she's told me just how to deal with it. She is a boy-problem-guru. I honestly just need her in my head 24/7 to help me.

I can tell Anna anything. She is the least judgemental person I've ever met. I can tell her that I've had anorexia without her looking at me any differently. I can tell her how much I dislike a common friend that we have without fearing that she'll think I'm a bitch. She's a human form of a journal. And she talks back to you. How awesome is she?

There's so much more to Anna than what I've said. Having to go through her moving back to California last year was one of the hardest things I've had to do. Her moving not only changed me, but it changed our whole friend group. Anna was honestly (this is probably the most factual statement that I've said in this whole post) the missing puzzle piece in our high school friend group. Everyone felt comfortable around her. Everyone *does* feel comfortable around her. She makes such an effort to keep in touch with all of her Minnie friends. I don't think I can really put Anna properly into words, even though I've written a load about her already.

If there's one person that I could say I'm jealous of, it's Anna. I don't blame you if by reading this far you are jealous too. Her life isn't perfect, but she makes it the best she can with whatever situation she's put in. That's something we can all improve on in our lives. And after seeing her again, I've decided that that's what I'm going to do.

Kudos to you for getting this far. This post is so long because: a) she needs this many and even more words to even partially put her into perspective for you, b) because I miss her more than anything and anyone right now, and c) because the traffic on freeway 5 in San Diego to LA is SO EFFING BACKED UP. DEAR GOD.

Okie, toodles.