IT'S MELISSA K: Besties For Life

This guy is going to hate me for doing this... :)

This is Mark. I met Mark at the very end of last year, right before finals. We hung out a bit but it sucked because it was the end of the semester and he was going on a mission. I thought for sure the day he left for the semester would be the last day I would see him. It was a sad thought. I've always believed that everything happens for a reason and I've REALLY believed that people come into your life for a specific reason at a certain time.

I couldn't understand why I met Mark at the time that I did. It was weird timing and then he was just going on a mission. Little did I know, Mark is awesome and awesome things happen.

Mark got his mission call during the summer and was called to Columbia, leaving December 19th. I don't think he was too happy about that, but I was! About a week later he told me that he would be going to SUU in the fall!! It just kept getting better and better! He would live in St. George and come up on Tuesdays and Thursdays for class. I don't know if he knows this but I was so excited!!!

So now we are at the Fall semester. Mark and I were in the same Chem class but his was online. We did the homework together and helped each other out. (Without his help I would probably be doing a lot worse in this class.) He came over to our house a lot and I feel like I really got to know him a lot better.

Yesterday, my roommate Dani who is also leaving for the MTC on December 19th said, "your two best friends will be gone!" This is so true. I didn't realize it, but I feel like Mark slowly became one of my best friends.

As I look back at this past semester, I realize what an amazing friend he really is. He always listened to me complain about people or things, asked what's wrong if I looked pissed or something, given me blessings when I asked (even if it was way too often), and just gave me hugs because I needed or wanted them. He really is a wonderful friend and I finally figured out why he came into my life at the time he did. I needed Mark to listen to me and give me those amazing testimony building blessings, and give me hugs. I needed a guy friend this semester.

He always knows the right thing to say to me when I have hard decisions to make or am worrying about dumb things. He's a cool cat. He's one of my best friends! He's leaving for the MTC in 11 days. I might get teary-eyed. I might be sad for a while. I WILL miss him. But I WILL write him. He WILL be one of the best missionaries I know. He will change lives and inspire people. He will be blessed and bless others. I'm proud of my best friend Mark.

So Mark, this is to you: Thank you for playing poker with the second floor boys in the dorm, thank you for going rock climbing with me, thank you for hanging out with me over the summer, thank you for the blessings, thank you for helping me with chem, thank you for listening and caring, thank you for the hugs and the laughs, thank you for taking pictures with me even though you hate them, and thank you for being one of my best friends, especially when I really needed one. :) See you on Sunday at your farewell and next week! And then after that, see you in two! Or as you like to put it, "see ya tomorrow." Love ya Marky Mark!