Never before has there been this sort of Mom Energy in one human being. She loves you? She takes care of you.

I can’t exactly remember when I met her, and I wish I could say I remember every good moment we’ve had since we became friends, but there are just too many of them.

She introduced me to “Mr. Brightside” by The Killers.

We were in many a show together back in high school, and if you didn’t know where something was or what was going on, she did. This, of course, caused a significant amount of stress for her, all of which could’ve been deflected had we not unofficially proclaimed her the actual director of our theatre program.

I once made vegan pancakes for an early morning rehearsal for her and the rest of our cast. They had almond butter in them. She is allergic to almonds.

I poisoned my best friend.

Whenever I taught dance in our production class, she was always the first ready to go and gave it everything she had. She doesn’t do anything less than her best. That’s not always the healthiest thing for her, but she does it nonetheless, and I can’t help but admire her for it.

Nearly every morning of senior year, she would pick me up in her car and take me to Starbucks. She literally can’t drink coffee. No, seriously. She might die. And yet every morning she would take me to Starbucks and feed my addiction.

Her favorite fruit is pineapples because, and I quote, “it is the only fruit that eats you while you’re eating it.”

On the night before I moved to college, she pulled a pin out from the ceiling of her car and handed it to me, wanting me to have something to remember her by. Like I could ever forget her.

The pin now sits on my desk as a reminder to be better, if not for me then for her.

J., this is for you. Remember that I love you and God has so many things in store for you. Please, please don’t give up on those big dreams of yours. If I know you (and beech, I know you), you will surely succeed in everything you choose to do.

Please don’t drop out of college. 

-Alexandra Eckelbarger