Since my friends are doing it..... Part 1

Alright, recently Ali and Kaye did blogs on their missionaries coming up on/reaching the year mark. I'm a little late for that. XD So I'm doing a "120 ish days left" post. XD (If he gets back the 15th of October, it's exactly 120 days from today. XD) Anyways, here's my story of how I met a certain someone. (Not super exciting, but w/e. lol)

My schooling was different from most. In other words, most people go to Mountain View after going to Stapley. I went to Westwood instead, because I was in their boundary, and I was raised a WW fan. (Andrew, Ali's missionary, did the same thing, so I knew like 2 or 3 people when I got to Westwood.) Anyways, I took Spanish 2 in room 417. I knew one person in the class, who also went to Stapley. So I went through most of the first semester just getting to know other people. My Spanish class really got to having fun, because the teacher, Mr. Barrett (I believe), would just disappear randomly, trusting us to behave. I don't remember exactly how James and I started talking, but we did. I do remember him making a funny looking mouth thing out of a newsletter thing, and then giving it to me. (*blush* I still have it in a box somewhere.)

It was getting to be December of 2004 and I was coming up on turning 16. Because it was high school, there were high school dances, and I was turning 16 the day before Winter Formal sophomore year, and it was perfect. I asked my carpool if I should go to Winter Formal, and I got a yes, so I thought about who to ask. I only come up with one name of someone I knew that was 16, but I asked Natalie in my carpool who I should ask, just for some advice/help because it was my first year, it would be my first date, and my first dance. Her suggestion, matched my own thoughts about who I wanted to take. That was James Vaterlaus, the tall, super nice, funny LDS boy in my Spanish class.

My sophomore year was hard. I got my patriarchal blessing that convinced me to stop being friends with the nonmembers I knew from junior high, so I was on my own. Since it was open campus then, James invited me to go to lunch with them once. It was kinda fun, but I still felt left out. (The walk to and from the house they went to was probably the best part, because I'm sure I was being silly.) I'm sure now that I had (and occasionally still have) depression. I hung out at the seminary building most of the time, playing piano in Bro. Gurr's classroom or reading. Anyways..... tangent.... sorry. *embarrassed* lol

So I asked him to Winter Formal. (I remember how as I'm typing this. XD) So I was cheap, and it was my first time doing anything, so it was pitiful. For Christmas, me and my sisters had gotten little metal bucket things with lids (dunno for what *shrug*, so I put some candy in it and said something like "I'd be a bucket full of joy if you would go to Winter Formal with me." Cheesy, yes, but w/e. lol Natalie put it on his desk in one of his classes, and then I had the wait. (That horrible waiting part. lol) I didn't have to worry about him saying no, though. He said yes, but by giving me an emptied out green bean can with an "I" on the outside and candy inside. ("I can" in case you didn't get it. :P)

Anyways, after a very interesting.... and somewhat embarrassing day activity, I went to get dolled up and then my mom chauffered me to pick him up and then to my aunt's house for the dinner. That was fun, because my aunt loves photography, so she enjoyed taking pictures of us. Ours turned out interesting, because I can't help but laugh most of the time.


At the dance, even when we were just talking we were having fun. (I was soooooo random. XD) The center pieces were rose petals and candles, so I stuck a rose petal between the outside of the glass and the decorative ribbon, "wondering" if it would spontaneously combust. Then he, my cousin's date and I started attempting to actually light the rosese on fire IN the flame. Alright, now skip to the door scene, I got a handshake. Lovely, right? Well, it was our first date and we were each others' first date. What do you expect?

Fast forward through Junior year and Tolman's class, which at least one semester he and I were in the same class. We both were in the Multi-Stake Dance Festival thing in 2005. (Don't remember what it was called. lol) So we saw each other pretty regularly in school and at Stake-wide church functions.

Now is where I get honest. See, before Senior year, he was one friend that I'd had since sophomore year, and before Senior year I wasn't really at all interested in guys. (Okay, technically me liking guys started on or just before our Stake Trek the summer (2006) before Senior year, but w/e. That whole thing gets complicated.) Andrew, being in my company, was like my brother on the trek. No, we weren't in the same family, but he was my only real friend. I wasn't lying earlier when I said I'm pretty sure I had depression. Being on the trek wasn't much different, but it was guy trouble that started the depression for at least one of the three days. I was starting to like someone that was not the best or right person for me. So Andrew was a shoulder to cry on when I felt bad on the trek because of the way I was being treated by what seemed like everyone. (I'm sure my "family" didn't like that I didn't help because I always fell behind the entire company when I did. I felt useless. Instead, Andrew and I were the front of our company, trying to keep ahead of everyone.) Anyways, James was in a different company, so I hardly got to see him...... *embarrassed again* Sorry another tangent. I swear I'm getting to the point, though. :P

Alright, so Senior year arrived. My classes were under way, I had friends (and some that weren't boys! Yay! lol Kudos to Ali, Kayde, and Noelle and everyone else for putting up with my weirdness.) Homecoming came around. That's when I noticed for really the first time that I really actually LIKED James, and I wanted him to ask me to homecoming. As in, really really liked him. For the past two years, he had shown that he was a true friend to me when I felt down, so I counted him as real friend, and I guess it progressed. I got asked to homecoming, but by someone else. That dance was agony. I felt terrible for my date, because my heart and mind were totally elsewhere. That's when I admitted to myself that I liked him, and definitely more than a friend.......



Alright, that's all I'm going to write for tonight. :P You guys have a novel to read. I don't know why I'm writing all of this, but I am, so be happy. lol I'll finish up high school and up to the point where he left on his mission either tomorrow or Friday. (Perhaps I'll even go to where I am now. XD Probably because for once, I feel like I have something to really write about.)