A Friend...

I met this lady once. She was kind and friendly--maybe a little too friendly for my liking at the time. She insisted on hugging me the moment she met and greeted me. I found this to be a tad freaky. I'm not one to hug or enjoy hugging complete strangers, but I indulged this freakishly friendly lady and allowed her to hug me because there was just something about her that made it okay and not so weird. She answered all my questions, reassured me that everything was okay and told me I would be able to do it. She put my mind at ease about the unknown abyss I had just jumped into. She even let me "steal" a smiley face gumball from her desk. Overall, my first impression of this lady was this: a hugger--something I wasn't. I was also sure she would be the obnoxiously overly peppy, always happy, smiling lady who would insist on hugging me every time she saw me. (My friend actually didn't end up being that person I realized over time. The person who ended up being the hug happy, peppy one was Andrea. Haha.) However, having this first impression of my friend wasn't really something I was looking forward to being the party pooper I was. However, she was nice and sincere so I was willing to put up with it. Little did I know three months following that day it would be her putting up with me...for seven months! I also didn't realize at the time of our first meeting just how grateful I would be to see the overly peppy lady on my first day of school.
I was scared to death, sitting in a room full of people I didn't know when I felt someone put a hand on my shoulder. I whipped around to find out who dared touch me to see my hug happy friend from a couple of months before. A face I recognized! I was sooo...relieved! She asked if I was doing okay and with a shaky unsure voice I said, "Yeah." I was totally lying. I wanted to puke my guts out. She smiled and told me I was gong to be okay. I on the other hand wasn't so sure. I decided at that point regardless of this lady's hugging history she would end up being someone rather important in my life and would end up being one of my most favorite people at the school. Boy that ended up being an understatement! At the end of the day I'm pretty sure I had gone into her office at least a half of dozen times all because she was the only person I knew. As it turns out I would spend every possible free moment I had in her office for months to come. That poor woman. I don't know how she dealt with it. I was a complete and total brat my first few months of school. I would sit in her office totally distraught, nearly in tears, having zero faith in myself, complaining about everything and even telling her how much I wanted to quit....EVERY SINGLE DAY! Do you know what this lady did? She listened to it all...EVERY SINGLE DAY! She listened to every single complaint I had and she even justified all my feelings. She didn't have to listen to my gripes. She could have closed her door to me--she probably should have. She just kept telling me, "You're going to be okay. You can do this. It'll get better--just give it time. One day you'll thank me for keeping you here." She never gave up on me even after I had given up on myself. She never walked out on me even though I had walked out on school. She always believed I would succeed.
She was right. I ended up being okay. I did do it. And it did get better. The person I am today is mostly the result of what this lady did for me months ago. I owe her my life and everything I have. She is someone I hold near and dear to my heart. Thank you for making me all that I was meant to be. You shall NEVER be forgotten and you WILL always be cherished. I love you.