A Long Way from Harmony Middle.

I have two best friends from high school and Kansas that are an essential part of my well-being here in Virginia. Jennie, Andrea and I all met at Harmony Middle. After graduating from high school, Andrea moved to New York for college and Jennie went west to California. A few years and a couple moves later, we live in three of the biggest cities in the US. Andy is rocking it out in Brooklyn, working in Manhattan. Jen lives in Chicago near Wrigley Field and fights traffic to a job really helping kids and families.

Since my move to northern Virginia, I need these two even more than I did in KC. Don't get me wrong, I still talk with my Kansas friends on a more than regular basis. Did you know that I'm a blackberry junkie? I'm pretty much always a phone call, text or email away even back east.

But the connection I share with my middle and high-school besties is different. They have a pretty good idea about what it takes to strike out on your own in a new big city. Jennie and I talk on gchat, over text or phone, almost every day. Andrea is fearless (read: tattoos) and my go-to expert on going out in the city. We usually plan outfits together (over the phone) and update each other throughout the evening through text messages.

Yesterday Andrea and I planned out an outfit for an 80s dance party that I was going to with Emily and Ryan. It turned out that there weren't a lot of hard core 80s costumes at the club we went to near U-Street. Thankfully my 80s rocker outfit was really hipster. I could wear it around Williamsburg with Andrea and blend in with the locals. ACDC shirt, gray skinny jeans, and my cowboy boots.


These boots were made for dancing. I was not made to be an 80s rocker. Fail.

True to our style, I've talked to Andrea and Jennie already today. We have come a long ways from Harmony Middle and BVNW. I think the bond is strong because we can laugh about where we came from and our current adventures in the big city. And they have kind hearts and always encouraging words about life and love, and I need that too.