March Spotlight: Melisa!

Two months behind isn't toooo bad, is it??? I wanted to Spotlight one of my best friends, Melisa (pronounced Mee Leesa) because we've been hanging out a lot lately and it reminds me of all the crazy, good times we've had together!

How We Met

I met Melisa my Junior year of high school. We were on Dance Co. together, but didn't know each other until we were in the same group for the Homecoming dance. Neither of us really knew anybody else in the group, so we stuck together. And we've been best buds ever since! (FYI: Melisa's nickname is Meisa, pronounced Meesa, just so you don't think it is a spelling error!) This is a picture of the the skinny little twerp I met in high school! ;)

Favorite Things About Melisa

• Our shared love for foreign films.
• Actually, I really love watching movies with Meisa period. She's a talker like me! And we don't annoy each other! LOL
• That she is obsessed with Japanese culture.
• That she is a Catholic, but our religious differences have never gotten in the way of our friendship. We even go to church with each other occasionally.
• That she lets me show off her off like a circus freak without too much complaint! Melisa is insanely flexible.
• Her awesome dance skills. Meisa was actually offered a spot with American Ballet Theatre when we were in high school, but turned them down!
• She never gets annoyed when people pronounce her name wrong. Most of the time she just doesn't even bother to correct them. It's actually pretty funny. We once went through an entire job training where everyone called her "Muh Lissa" and thought I was the weirdo when they heard me calling her "Mee Leesa".
• Melisa can always perfectly understand me when I talk, even though I apparently have a terrible tendency to mumble and mutter under my breath.
• Meisa is great at keeping in touch. She's always there for birthdays, family events, etc.
• She is also one of those friends that I could lose touch with for years, but when we got back together it would be just like old times, with plenty to talk about and absolutely no awkwardness.
• Her bootylicious booty!

Favorite Memories

One of my favorite memories with Melisa is the time my parents' jet ski broke down on us in the middle of the lake. We had to swim/push it to shore; slush through a bog; cleverly avoid stepping in horse crap and thistles with our bare feet; hike a mile of unpaved road wearing nothing but bikinis, life jackets, and bloody feet; hitchhike with a stranger (I'm sure the bikinis actually helped this time); and endure blistering sunburn. Good times!

I also have fond memories for all of the crazy times we had together! Like the time we broke into a swimming pool in the middle of the night, or the time we agreed to accompany a group of psychopathic killers to the canyon (at least we were wrong about the psychopathic killers part!).

Some of my favorite memories, though, are the times we've stayed up all night watching old black and white, subtitled, foreign films together. Those nights are the best!

And Now

Melisa is graduating with her BS in Exercise and Sport Science this week. And she's getting married in September. Congrats, Meis! Thanks for all the great times!

Us in Mexico a few years ago...