Addis Yeshi Gezahegn

Dear Addis,
         I love you so much. :) That's the first thing I want to say to you, no matter what happens, haha, so I guess I should put that here as well. The first memory that I ever remember having with you is in third grade, when I sat at your table, along with Macie Anderson and Hayden [I don't remember his last name?]. I remember once, you were laughing and talking loudly, and Mrs. Rutter thought it was me, so she marked my card. ): I was immensely saddened by that. :)
The second thing I remember is that on Christmas that year, you gave me a locket. You said that your mom had told you to buy it and that it wasn't even very expensive, but it meant the world to me. I think I told you in 6th or 7th grade that I still had it, and I remember you saying, "What? You still have it?" as if it didn't mean much. I don't think you'll ever know how much that necklace means to me. :) I STILL have it! [Although, the chain broke and the locket itself is rusting but I keep it on my night drawer] That was the first Christmas present I had ever received from a friend, and to me, it is the most precious.

Every time we went out to eat or something, you always ended up paying for me. To this day, I still don't know how to repay you. If it's just money, I'd work until I saved up enough, but it's not. It's about compassion and sacrifice, and where in the world would I come up with enough of that to express to you just how grateful I am for all those times? I think it's cliche how so many people say, "I wouldn't be the person that I am without you", but for this situation, it must be used u___u For it's true; I wouldn't be me without you. It's scary for me to really sit back and think about the amount of impact that some people have had on my life, but it's even harder to think about my relationship with you. I feel like we can have distance, but that our friendship will never fade.

Addis, I love your laugh. And I love your smile, and that little head bob + bite lip thing that you do whenever you're excited or you know the answer :) I think that I get pissed around you a lot, which isn't your fault at all, it's mine. I think you know that with my mom, I get pissed really easily, but deep down, I know it's because I know I can be, and she'll still be there. It's bad to take people for granted like that, but for some reason, I can't control it. I feel like I act that way towards you. I get pissed easily for silly things, but the minute I see you do your little Addis moves, I feel like I can't ever be pissed. I'm sorry that things happen so extremely, that we either are MAJORLY best friends or we're best friends on vacation, haha. :) It's okay though, because I'd rather have it that way than not be best friends at all.

Sometimes, I'm jealous of you. In the beginning, I was always scared that when people saw how amazing you were, how funny, how sweet, how cool you were, they'd leave me and hang out with you instead. But deep down, I was just always scared of you realizing that you're too amazing to be with me, and you'd leave me behind. You're so open to new experiences and I feel like even if I was super daring, I'd never be able to keep up. You're this beautiful free spirit and I can't even believe that we've been friends, let alone BEST FRIENDS, for so long! You're going to go so far, Addis. I don't even know what or where you're going to work, but I know that you're going to make it big and I'm going to be so happy for you :) You're like a tornado of beautiful in a world that's never seen beauty before. Just show them and see what happens! (:

Well, I think I've taken up enough room on here. :)
I love you so much.
Always best friends,
Tammy.

Alyssa Grace Acree

Dear Alyssa,
Where do I even begin? You are just such a breath of fresh air and I can't even explain how much I adore you! Before I joined staff, I always thought you were super nice and although I knew you were good at photography, I didn't know just HOW good you were! I think that's why when I first started out in staff, I felt so intimidated by you. I thought to myself, "Alyssa is so beautiful and sweet and AMAZING at photography! What if she doesn't like me? I'm neither pretty nor even great at photography...". I was so nervous, but wow...I can't believe how close I've gotten to you! By close, I don't mean that I know your favorite color and every single detail of your life, but I feel like in staff, we don't need that. :) You brought me into your world when I was feeling insecure and alone. There will never be enough words to describe how grateful I am to have you in my life. I love how you always teach, always listen, and try really really hard not to judge. Every day I see you, it makes me want to become a better person. I don't know how to describe it, it's like every time I see your smile or hug you, I feel all warm inside. You are this amazing older sister and with you, I feel the utmost love and care. That's all anyone could ever really ask for.
I am so proud of your decision regarding your pregnancy. :) I've lived my whole life thinking, "Oh teen pregnancy? That's just terrible." I never gave too much thought to it, only that it happened to careless people and that the child would grow up in a loveless, busy, tangled home. But you've opened my eyes so much. That moment you said, "I'm going to be a mom in June.", my heart stopped and it felt like I was reborn again. You are so brave, so extraordinary. You've planned wisely and loved wisely, I couldn't imagine a better person to be pregnant. :) That baby will come into the world floating on a cloud of love and I am so so so happy that the person who made it all happen is a part of my life. You've shown that there is no schedule for life, no schedule for love. When there is a pothole in the middle of the road in life, you jump over it and keep on moving. You've made that jump into a wonderful experience and therefore, every one of your days must be happy and beautiful. How grateful I am to be able to see someone like that every day :)

I could write to you for forever, Alyssa, but I think I need to spread some love to my other great friends now. (: I love you so much, never forget that. I hope you never forget me because I sure as heck never will forget you. ♥

You will always be my baby momma!
Tammy.