Friends in School

 Question 18:  Who were some of your friends in school? What were they like? What are they doing today?

I had friends in elementary school but I honestly don't remember too much about most of them except Kevin Gorton.  Everyone liked Kevin...like all the girls had crushes on him and he was a well liked kid in K-3 grade.  He was one of the few other members of the church that was my age.  His mom babysat us once (I think she may have been the only person outside of family members to ever babysit us.)  

In second grade I had two best friends.  We lived in a trailer park and Brandon Coster and Joshua (don't remember his last name) lived near us in the trailer park.  We spent countless hours playing hide and seek, tag, and other games.  I was so sad when Brandon moved to Panama after second grade.  Joshua and I were still friends in third grade, but it seems like after that we didn't really stay close.

In junior high, Tacia Scott was one of my best friends.  She moved to Peoria (about a 15 minute drive) after seventh grade, but we still hung out fairly often in 8th grade.  She was funny and pretty and we laughed a lot.  And because she liked skaters, I thought I liked skaters.

In junior high, I also became good friends with Becky Bowles (I may be spelling her last name incorrectly.)  That was a heartbreaking friendship.  Becky confided in me that her brother was sexually abusing her.  I convinced her to talk to the school counselor, and of course the authorities were contacted.  Eventually Becky was removed from her home--she lived with her grandparents and her brother.  It was heartbreaking to see the pain that the abuse caused, the pain that she experienced being separated from her family, the pain that they didn't protect her from or even believe when she came forward.  I tried to be a good friend, and I still think of her from time to time.  I wish I could have done more.  I wish she never had to experience such horror or pain.  

In high school, I was good friends with Kerie Trindle, Kara Ridgeway, and Charity LaMertha.  They are some of the few people from high school that I still visit when I go to Arizona (though Charity has lived most of her adult life outside of the US...in Korea, then Indonesia, and now China so I haven't seen her very often.).  I was also really good friends with Richie Gilliland--he was one of my very best friends.  I was also good friends with Lara Jansen.  I lost touch with her after high school, and a couple of years ago, both Richie and Lara passed away.  Richie's birthday was the day before mine, and so I never fail to think about him and our friendship around my birthday.  Richie was funny and kind and such a good guy.  He ended up getting divorced and struggled with diabetes and it seems like he had more than his share of challenges, but he was one of the best people I have known.  

Another good friend in high school was Kim Daniels.  She was funny and fun to be around.  She got pregnant when we were juniors, and she married her boyfriend.  I kept in touch with her through letters for quite a few years, and she faced a lot of struggles.  I think of her from time to time and wonder how she is doing.  I hope she is okay.

Facebook has made it possible for me to stay in contact with many friends from high school, and it's nice to know how they are doing.