A Very Lucky Girl

Let me introduce you to my sister, Moriah Jo Cregor. She is my main gurl. My ride or die. The Anne to my Diana. The rat to my weasel. The sane to my crazy. My junior year prom date (I don't take just ANYBODY to dances). My maid of honor if I ever get hitched (we signed contracts in blood. Okay, red pen). A model snapchatter. A model, in general. A senior year nursing student who undertook the topic of Addison's Disease for her final paper. We've been best friends for 6 years. But it never feels that short.  I told you she was a model! Dillard's prom dress shows are the best runways around in Beaumont, TX. Remember that time we got haircuts at the Galleria during our trip to Houston for our Sweet 16? Remember that time we color coordinated for the Valentine's Dance? Remember those times we showered together after pool adventures? Remember that time Numero Ocho was GREAT at softball? Remember that time we spent break time being silly...

I've spent some wonderful days as the girlfriend of the greatest guy I've ever met in my life. I wouldn't take back a single second of my time with Tyler Aaron McKee. Whether he knows it or not he teaches me what selfless love looks like. And I recognize that I lack it. I don't have the same desire to care for people more than myself that he embodies everyday, but I'm trying to cultivate it.  He is a thousand wonderful things, but I greatly appreciate his thoughtfulness, his honesty, and his selflessness. He isn't so great at the Gladiator playstation move game, but he will dominate in frisbee golf if you dare to challenge him. He has an uncanny sales talent, with both mobile phones and plasma screens. Go visit him at Best Buy! He will unabashedly skip you in Phase 10, but I think I am on a winning streak. If you were unaware, we broke up for 2.5 seconds (okay, 3 incredibly long days) in the middle of April. They were some of the most miserable days of my ...

Blanche is Paul's sister so that makes her my aunt. I've called her Aunt Blanche up until May 23 of this year when she cornered me at Oakes' graduation dinner of take out Chinese and claimed she had a bone to pick with me. Since I refer to my dad as Paul and my mom as Sharbear, usually just in the blog, she insisted I drop the "Aunt" from her name. I acquiesced to her request.  This lady has supported me since I was born, and my middle name, Olivia, matched hers. Blanche has always treated me with respect, almost as a miniature adult (even when I used to not act like one). I admire her for that sort of interaction with me. I envy her for her perfectly arranged closet and outfit coordinations in a neat little notebook. She's successful, driven, and independent. Her minimalist approach to decorating has created a beautiful home in Baton Rouge with her husband. Snapshots of her house could be featured on Pinterest pins on people's "home sweet hom...

The infamous Miss Johnson I had quite a tumultuous education growing up. I started Kindergarden at New Hope Academy and completed third grade with the wonderful teaching of Mrs. Utley, Mrs. Fontenot, Miss Johnson, and Mrs. Peabody. I couldn't ask for a better beginning of school. From there I attended fourth grade through ninth grade at St. David's School. I learned Latin from the legendary Mr. Davis and labeled the African countries in Ms. Newsome's class. Mrs. Crutchley aided my seventh grade heart and placed me next to my crush in her assigned seating chart. Mrs. Purvis instilled basic grammar rules into my fifth grade brain and Mrs. Durham endured my crying fits in math class. LETTERS DON'T BELONG IN MATH. It's a disgrace to the alphabet. Sophomore and junior year were spent at Legacy Christian Academy in the presence of educators like Mrs. Maxey and Mrs. Brunson. I learned extensive amounts of European history and American Government from Dr. Hamel and Dr. ...

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...

I hope it's not cheating to combine two people in one post and pass it off as one person. I cannot narrow the influential people in my life to only 21 measly individuals. Katherine and Caroline Nelson are my two blood cousins and I absolutely love them both. Katherine is 6 months younger than me, but about 2 feet shorter, while Caroline is about 2 years younger than me, but probably 2 feet taller. They both live in New Orleans, one of my favorite cities in America, but I don't get to visit them nearly as much as I'd like. Of course, now that I have my own set of wheels I can change that pretty quickly. I'm hoping to hug both of their necks in early July at a family reunion in Illinois.  They both have dreams in the medical field, majoring in that crazy Biology subject. I got a 1 on the AP Biology exam so unfortunately those science smarts don't run in the family. I go through spurts of time with both of them where we will talk often, and then others where th...

By my expert calculations, my twenty-first birthday is a mere 45 days away. It seems like it's taken a lifetime to get here. Weird how that works, right? I didn't make it to 21 all by my lonesome though. There are at LEAST 21 people (or pairs/groups of people) that have contributed positively to the person that I am/will be during my 21st year of life. So I plan to highlight them in the next 45 days by posting about a singular person approximately every other day. People you can expect to read about in the next few weeks (in no particular order) include: Nathan H Sharbear Paul Mimi (and Grandpa Butch) Mimi and Didi Aunt Blanche Katherine and Caroline Emily B Megan H and Hannah W Moriah C Tyler M Carra L/Grace J/Sam W/Stasia M Marianne W Beignet Robin C/Jeanett N/Marilyn H/Edna E (and other magnificent teachers) Justin/Sarah B Conner G my ADPi sisters Natasha A the brave parents that let me spend time with their kids (several babysitting endeavors) Savanna...

Have you ever noticed that some people are just BORN to do something? That they have a unique talent that they have discovered and are utilizing said ability in ways to impact the world around them? You don't listen to Norah Jones sing and think, "wow, that girl woulda made a great zookeeper. It's a real shame." You don't hear Justin Buchanan speak to you as your youth pastor and ponder, "man, he really could have made a great astronaut." You don't read Miranda's  blog  and say, "She missed her calling. Dental hygienist was right up her alley." You don't view Megan's photos  and lament, "it's too bad the Jamba Juice career is over, she could swirl a Strawberry Surfrider like no other." They have all discovered what they do with unabashed excellence, and they do it to their full potential. Doing your best at something doesn't make you THE best. But excelling at your unique skill? There isn't anot...