#28 -- Your Mom

Written by Veronica Boley, my best friend and college roommate (and style star)...

Your mother has asked me to write something for your collection of "50 Things You'll Love About Life". And I decided what better to write about than your mother! I thought I'd invite you down memory lane…to a time when your mom was a little more carefree, a little more wild and just beginning her adulthood discovery of who she was. So Emilia, if you will, let's take a stroll back to the early 2000's and back to Ball State University in Muncie Indiana…

I met your mom freshman year when we became Alpha Phi sorority sisters, but we didn't really become close friends until sophomore year. One of my earliest memories of her took place at a sorority recruitment event. Your mom was asked to sing a solo during one of our songs. To this day, I don't remember much about that event, or even the song. I just remember your mom gracefully singing her solo in front of a hundred people!

Once our friendship was developed, she and I and our group of friends were pretty much together 24/7...we all had lunch together, went shopping, went to parties, went to sorority dances…we had a lot of fun! We also had a lot of sleepovers sophomore year because your mom lived in a haunted house…seriously! She didn't like being in her home alone, so there were many nights when she came over to the 212 house and we'd watch movies until we fell asleep!
The summer after sophomore year your mom got a job at a hotel working behind the check-in desk…during the grave yard shift! She'd come over during the day before work and we'd drink Vanilla Coke and gossip and plan out how we were going to decorate our apartment for the following year. I never understood how she was able to stay awake all night, but she did it for an entire summer!

Junior year we shared an apartment with our friend Lori on Dill Street. What a year! We were a block away from the most popular bar on campus, which lead to some super fun nights! But what I mostly remember was walking next door to the VP gas station on early mornings with your mom to pick up snacks, juice and lottery tickets (which your mom always seemed to win). We usually went in flip flops, shorts and a sweatshirt. Our hair was piled on top of our heads and our makeup was, well…messy! But those are some of my favorite memories! There were also fun morning surprises when I would wake up to a homemade egg burrito with salsa, curiosity of your Susie-Homemaker mom! She was such a good roommate! I enjoyed having my two best friends just a bedroom away. There was always a shopping partner, a lunch date to Red Sun, or a Sex And The City marathon co-watcher!

Junior year was also my favorite Spring Break of all time! We headed south to Key West. I won't go into much detail except to say that one afternoon your mom and I snuck away to have a grown up lunch on the patio at a beautiful expensive restaurant. I still remember having the mahi-mahi with mango salsa and laughing and relaxing with your mom. I don't remember what we talked about, but I do remember that neither of us wanted to leave that place. We did of course, but your mom, as you know, followed her dream and eventually went back to live in the beautiful sunshine state!

Senior year, your mom worked at Roly Poly…a tasty sandwich store. I remember I always used to go in to visit your mom between classes. There's nothing too exciting about this observation…it's just that to this day, every time I see a Roly Poly, I think of your mom and smile! And that's the thing about your mom…she tends to leave that great impression on everyone! When she moved to Shelbyville, a very small town in Indiana, she made a hundred friends over night! She even starred in the town's community play (which I traveled to see, pregnant belly and all…and yes, she was amazing and beautiful and star quality!)

And when she decided to leave Shelbyville for Orlando, her friends and co-workers threw her a going away party, to which the mayor even attended!Now the mother you know is probably quite different from the Katie that I used to be BFF's with. By now she's been able to figure out what she wants out of her life and her priorities have drastically changed…you, of course are her number one! But I can't help but think that all of my memories (however meaningless some may seem) have helped to mold your mother into the wonderful, head-strong woman that she is today! I'm sure she tells you to always follow your dreams, believe in yourself and never give up. Maybe by now you've heard those things so many times that they've just become familiar words. But believe me when I tell you that if anyone has the right to tell you those things, it's her…and not just because she's your mother, but because she's speaking to you from experience. She's lived by those words and hopefully always continues to do so!

Emilia, you have your whole life at your feet, and I hope that with your mom behind you, you'll always feel ready to take those first steps! Happy walking!