A Very Lucky Girl

Often referred to as NH when I mention him here, I've known Nathan Honaker since I was in 4th grade. He truly is one of my life-long best friends, despite the heartbreak that we put each other through in turn. It all started in 5th grade, maybe with a yes or no note? The details escape me. We had a good three day run. He moved away to Greenville, SC for our sixth grade year and I didn't really notice his absence. Probably too preoccupied with a crush on a guy that barely knew I existed. But, seventh grade year was a different story. He came back to Raleigh. And promptly started dating a different girl. Cool, Nate. We spent time together on the cross country team and formed a friendship through running and our Bayleaf Baptist church connection. I played Yahtzee at his house one evening with both of our siblings and watched him and Oakes battle it out in Ping Pong. The summer after seventh grade he moved into a house in my neighborhood, approximately 2.5 miles away. Convenie...

So I mentioned in a previous post that Tyler would be guest writing to share his side of who he has found me to be, in rebuttal to my sharing the observances of him in a post that celebrated our 6 months together. He emailed me his words, complete with pictures, for your enjoyment. I'm sure that everyone who regularly reads Taylor’s blog has a pretty good idea of who Taylor Arceneaux is, but I’d like to give you a little inside scoop of what I’ve learned about her over these last seven months. Taylor Olivia Arceneaux was born on July 1, 1992 in Bloomington, Indiana to two spectacular parents, Paul and Shari “Sharbear” Arceneaux. She has one younger brother named Oakes who will be graduating from Heritage Hall this year. And I can’t forget her wonderful grandparents (with a free meal from Slim Chicken's and Longhorn Steakhouse, wonderful might be selling them a little short.) She has lived in Indiana, Tennessee, North Carolina, Texas, and Oklahoma over the last twenty ye...

I've learned a lot about Tyler Aaron McKee in the past six months. Born on June 18, 1990, he is a solid 22 years old with two brothers (he's the baby), really cool parents, and truly lovely grandparents. This boy is an Oklahoma City Thunder enthusiast and unbeatable at NBA 2K12 on PlayStation. Unfortunately, his video game skills don't transfer to Nintendo64 Diddy Kong Racing #suckstosuck. When he's not watching "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" he is stuck on level 30 in Bubble Mania. I'm on level 54, but who's competing, really. He typically avoids spicy foods but manfully swallowed-and claims he enjoyed!-Sharbear's gumbo. He washes down 100 Grand bars and pretzel M&M's with red Gatorade, lemonade, or Dr. Pepper 10. He takes notes in French class with a Bic Atlantis, pointing out the squirrels ("ecureuil, ecureuil!") through the perfectly drawn, symmetrical blinds (he is kinda OCD). Tyler listens to live recordings of ...

Carly Rae Jepsen became an overnight sensation with her hit song, "call me maybe" this summer.  Things I love about this song: 1.               The gentleman in the music video isn't hard to look at.  2.               It's catchy and perfect to jam to in your best friend's red jeep with the top off (the car's top. to be clear.) 3.               It's accurate. It's not that I've had lots of experience in handing out my number and wishing for calls, maybe. I think I've actually only done it once, on a dare. It was lunchtime at the mall food court and my friends and I were demolishing ChickfilA as only high school senior girls can do. There was a semi-attractive (at least from the back) male ordering food from the neighboring establishment. I am not a bold person, so they ...

"Don't act like you suddenly have self-respect" A guy said this to me last semester. I'm not proud of my reaction (think words that sound similar to "kung fu" and a choice hand gesture), but I was stunned at the effect his words had on me. I don't respect him, I don't think he has anything of value to ever say, yet this phrase still haunts me if I'm not careful. Unharnessed, it can reverberate in my mind, crowding all sensible thought. I know I have self-respect. I've proven it to myself over and over again, especially in the past few months with the choices I've made. JK (even his initials are a complete joke) inadvertently issued me a challenge.  Oh, you think I lack self-respect? Watch this. Challenge Accepted, A Very Lucky (and self-respecting) Girl.