Birthday Brynn.

The year was 2010. I was recently divorced and back in the singles ward at church. All of my friends were married. I repeat. ALL of my friends. There were two guys I had been friends with years before in my previous single days and they sort of took me under their wing. They started inviting me to activities and hang outs which was sweet as could be. Except that I then became the "girl" that nobody knew who kept showing up to places with the "guys" that the girls liked. And then I created even more of an X on my back when I started kissing the guy that EVERY girl in "the group" had a crush on. 

Making friends is hard. I feel like I'm a pretty social person but coming into a group of friends that already exists is not an easy thing to do. I seriously remember crying about it. I have never had a problem with having or making friends. I just always had my friends that I'd collected over time, and it's easy to add friends to a group of friends. It's not so easy to be the girl who has no friends, but wants to be accepted by the coolest, prettiest girls. (Something to keep in mind)

I just wanted girlfriends. But I knew the girls didn't really like me. Actually...I don't think they didn't like me but they could care less about getting to know me. They'd be nice-ish and then I'd hear about all the fun they had earlier that day and see pictures of everyone hanging out. It was pretty apparent that I wasn't a part of the group. I was just there, because some of the guys were nice enough to invite me. 

Until I met Brynn. 

Brynn changed everything. The night I met her she was nice as could be. She got my number and not only did she start inviting me to things, she also offered to pick me up so I wouldn't have to go by myself and she even started asking me to do things on our own outside of the group. We went to the movies, we went to the fair, we went on shopping dates. I finally had a girlfriend! And guess what? The more I hung out with Brynn, the more of a chance the other girl's started to give me. It honestly made all the difference. 

And now, that same group of girl's are some of my best friends. 

If there's one thing I learned being in that situation: it's hard to be the new girl. Often times I find myself being guilty of the same thing. But it just goes to show that a little bit of nice can go a long long way. I will forever be grateful for the kindness Brynn showed towards me during that hard time in my life. She didn't even know how big of an impact she was making in my life (that I still think about-4 years later) or the struggles I was going through. She was just being herself. I hope I can make an effort to follow her example throughout my life. 

A few weekends ago Brynn celebrated her birthday with us in Vegas. (She now lives in Utah, boo) We threw her a totally 90's birthday party where I made a freaking rad playlist that I may still listen to on the reg. We danced the night away in our best 90's swag and basically had the best night of our life. (Thanks for the pants, mom!) We also had a little bonfire another night at Allison's house before sending Brynn back up to the Utah. I love my girlfriends. Like a lot. And I have Brynn to thank for that! :)

Happy Birthday Brynn! You are my favorite!