Because I'm a Ginger...: Double Double

Once upon a time. There were two of the most wonderful women this world has ever known. And they happened to be my best friends, and I love them with all my heart.

This is Suzie and Mattie. They have changed my life in so many ways, and I am so grateful that God sent them into my life.

At the beginning of senior year, Suzie and I were close friends, and Mattie and I... weren't really. In all honesty, she intimidated me like nobodies business. She was the upcoming ginger star, and she seemed like she had everything together, and she actually knew what she was doing, and she was just so chill and okay with everything in her life. And that right there shows you she is a brilliant actress because I know now that that isn't really true.

At the beginning of the year, we have the Shakespeare festival competition. This is a thing where high school students all come and preform, well, Shakespeare. We watched in class a snippet of Macbeth (the one with the BRILLIANT Sir Patrick Stewart) and it was soo crazy and intense. After, in my head I realized I really wanted to do THAT. Not just the witches scene, but I wanted to do the witches scene on so many levels of crack that they would have to drug test us afterwards. But then I thought that since it was ultra-mormon-chill land nobody else would probably want to do that scene. So I started looking for another scene. Except then I overheard Suzie and Mattie talking and saying they wanted to do that scene. So I ninja attacked them/flipped out, and thus, we sold ourselves to Shakespeare. And it was the most beautiful month of my life. It was the beginning of an era, and it changed my life forever.

We practiced. And practiced and practiced and practiced. I can honestly say I don't think I have ever been so dedicated to something in my entire life. Every waking moment became about this scene, as well as most of my dreams (which was sort of crack and we won't go into that). Every lunch we rehearsed. I am sure J got sick of us being in his room practicing all the time. But frankly, I don't care. Through endless rehearsals, we felt so comfortable with each other. Suzie and I became closer than ever, and Mattie planted her little seed of joy and love into my heart.

Another thing I loved about this whole thing is that it felt like we each had a voice in what we were doing. We all talked everything through, and every major choice we made we discussed. It never felt like we were directing each other, because most of the time we were all on the same wave length. We helped each other, and not just with this scene. We started doing everything together, from making butt-cookies together to just sitting and talking about life.

For our scene we needed bodies. And thankfully, we had Taft. He is the dearest of humans, and I am so grateful to him for letting us wrap him in packing tape. Not many guys would be okay with that. We practiced on him, we taped him, we mocked him, and we loved him. He is really one of the best people.

Then came the time of competition. This is actually the birthplace of me using the phrase "Kick it in the balls!" Despite popular belief that it's origins were during Alice rehearsals, this is where I said it originally. Before every round we prayed that we would do our best, and then I looked Mattie and Suzie in the eyes and tell them that we would kick it in the balls. And we did.

We ended up winning first place, which was amazing. This was the first time I actually felt GOOD about my work, ya know? Suzie and I both won scholarships to SUU, which is the whole reason that I am now going to school here. But that really isn't the real way they changed my life. They have made me a better person. Suzie can always make me laugh no matter how sad I am. Mattie know how to make me feel good about myself and how to be there for me no matter what.

Despite the fact that our scene was slightly Satanic, we put our hearts and our souls into, and we also put our hearts and souls into each other. These women are seriously my best friends to this day, and I don't know where I would be with out them. I don't know how I am going to be able to cope without having Mattie at school with me everyday, making strange duck noises and calling me "babe". I already miss her with all of my heart, and I can not wait until I see her next.