Will You Be My Bridesmaid?

As we get closer and closer to the big day, I realize more and more how luck I am to not only have Joe in my life, but also how lucky I am to have some amazing friends.  A lot of thought and effort goes into picking your wedding party, because it really is a big decision. As we started the planning process, I realized how blessed I am to have so many friends that have been with me through the ups and the downs of growing up.  Being the crafty person that I am, I wanted to ask them in a unique way.  After looking through Pinterest for quite some time, I decided I wanted to combine a couple ideas into one.  Since Joe had already "popped" the question, it was now time to "pop" the question with my own special box.

Champagne to POP, POPcorn, POProcks, ringPOPs, blowPOPs

Each one of my bridesmaids has been there in a very special way in my life.  My sister is my maid of honor and my best friend.  A lot of times people say that they are close with their siblings, but I am pretty sure I talk to my sister daily, even if it is only for a couple minutes.  We grew up sharing a room and with her being older, I always looked up to her.  We are very similar in some ways but also miles apart in others.  I loved stealing her clothes when we were younger and always hoped that I wouldn't run into her at school so she wouldn't find out that I was wearing them.  No matter what, she has been there as I grew up and became the person I am today.  As she starts her family with my brother in law and becomes a wonderful mother, I once again look to her for guidance as Joe and I start our own lives together.

Courtney was one of my first friends when I started swimming year around.  We were both 12, and she was way better than me.  Even though she swam faster than me, she still wanted to be my friend :)  Although we didn't go to the same high school, we spent hours together training early in the morning and late at night.  For any swimmers out there, you know club swimming quite time consuming, so we spent many travel meets sharing rooms and celebrating our victories.  We both went to Georgia Tech together and our friendship grew from there.  College brought it's own set of challenges and she was always there to keep me out of trouble, lift my spirits, or help me pass my test.  I really couldn't imagine life without my best friend, especially since she has been there for all the major steps in my life.

Amanda and I became fast friends in high school when she moved to Greenville.  It may have been the fact that she had gone to middle school with Courtney before coming to Greenville, or the fact that we were both super nerds in math and bonded over that.  We became fast friends when I had to carry all of her books for a couple weeks after she was on crutches, and she repaid her dues the week after she got off crutches because I showed up to school on my own set of crutches.  Carpooling from middle school to high school for our math class in 8th grade solidified our friendship forever.  We could talk for days about what seems like nothing and we constantly talked about our futures together.  It is crazy that my wedding day is almost here after we had talked so much about it.

Bethany made the move from Maryland to Greenville in high school and I was always on the look out for new friends.  It made it easier becoming fast friends after she moved in just down the street so that we could enjoy pool time as well as the outdoors.  Although she took her outdoorsyness to a new level by learning all about the soil, we continued to remain friends and argue about who's football team was better (she went to Clemson and GT seemed to win the games for the most part).  She is literally the nicest girl in the world and no matter what is going on in life, she is there to be the calm one between the two of us. 

Sarah Anderson was my lab partner when I came to GT because we deemed each other the most normal looking people in our class.  We became friends as I experienced the ups and downs of freshman year and always loved her crazyness.  After our sophomore year, we learned that we were both going to study abroad in France together, and that solidified our friendship.  We traveled Europe together, feeding off of each other's adventurous sides (thank goodness Courtney was there to keep us somewhat calm).  I love how sporadic she is and I can't help having a crazy time when I am with her, even if it is in supposed to be a calm spring break with her grandma in Florida (it ended up being MUCH more exciting than planned).

Sarah Borowicz and I had known each other for quite some time.  We swam for rivalry high school teams but didn't really get to know each other until we went to a mutual friends lake house.  It was a very sporadic trip and I can't even imagine if the trip hadn't happened.  From there she came to visit me at Tech while I made some trips to Clemson.  Through our friendships, both of us have grown up tremendously and she is always the one that I can unload my fears, dreams, and aspirations with.  I cannot wait to see where our lives take us as we grow up, because I think we both agree that we never thought we would be were we are now on that lake weekend.

Sarah Schoeff and I met the first day of college because we were both members of the swim team.  We enjoyed the ups and downs of freshman year but really became better friends when we became roommates Junior year.  They say that you shouldn't room with one of your friends, but I really do believe it made us closer.  We spent two years living next door to each other and driving to morning practices together half asleep.  I think all of the soul searching at 6 AM really brought up closer together.  Maybe someday we will live next door again, but for now she just has to hope that my work travels take me to Boston again sometime soon (when it isn't winter!)