The Girl Next Door

Second Character: Hope Duffie

Her name sounds so sweet, doesn’t it? If Hope Duffie were a scent, it would be that candle that smells like fresh-baked cookies, or what the set of the Rachael Ray show must smell like. I think her parents named her so appropriately because even her nicknames that come from her name fit her to a T. Hopey is my name of choice for her, so I may refer to her as that at times. Hopey is probably my classiest friend, and by classy, I mean classic. Her style is simple, chic, and understated beauty, kind of like a modern day Audrey Hepburn (which is so appropriate, because Hopey loves Audrey). She’s all-American, and truthfully, she’ll go wherever she wants in life because she just goes about life the right way.

How I met Hope: Back to the fifth grade Warehouse days. Hope was in the neighboring class with Mrs. Aho (I know, how unfortunate, and she married into that!) so we rarely saw each other and honestly didn’t strike up a friendship until the year after. Hope wasn’t the “jump right into the middle of the boy’s football game” or “show everyone up at field day” type on the playground, and so consequently, our recess time didn’t yield much for us.

My first memory of Hope: This one is hard because I can’t peg it down to one memory, so I’ll just share with you an old memory that I love (or just choose to remember fondly so that it doesn’t scar my sense of self). So, being the bit of a tomboy that I was, it only makes sense that my friendship with Hope grew out of a shared sports experience. Seventh grade volleyball- oh the hormones, emotions, and lack of skill! Our poor coach. The blossoming friendship of Caitlin, Hope and I was only stunted by their not-so-ill-intentioned jabs at me in the locker room. Apparently, I made too many excuses (about what, I still don’t know). Either way, every word I uttered was cut off by their mocking voices, sometimes giving me the feeling that I was in an army barrack and not a Christian school locker room. Ok, maybe that was dramatic. But not too much. That may have just ruined Hope’s sugary sweet reputation in your eyes, but in some crazy way, it brought us together. The fact that I wasn’t allowed to joke back made it somehow all the funnier. I don’t know, I still don’t get it, but if I had to endure it to get to this sweet point in our friendship 11 years later, I guess it was worth it.

Highlights of our Glory Years: This one is too easy. Hope was my most loyal field-side friend, cheering just as passionately with me for those football boys. Although she was a cheerleader also, she quit her senior year to stand by me for every play (that may not have been her reason- I may have made that up). Regardless, she loved football with me, and she really fought to understand it, too, and I appreciated that. She understood my heart, she loved those boys in the same why I did, with that Texas football pride deep in her little soul. Hopey is one of those people that takes every moment captive, and high school football was no exception.

Who she was then: If Hope was a stereotyped high school character, she would be the girl next door. Hope described herself as vanilla ice cream, and she is- she’s great with just about anything, and the simple, sweet treat that everyone likes. Hope was the guy’s little sister and the girl’s best friend. She just fit into your snuggle spot when you hugged her, and when you saw her walking down the hallway, you wondered if you just stepped inside a Gap commercial. She was good at pretty much anything she attempted; if she didn’t attempt it, maybe she just had the wisdom to know it wasn’t her thing, but it worked for her, because everything she did do, she did with such excellence. She was the girl that every mom wanted you to be friends with, the one that every boy’s mother dreamed up wedding images with. While Jen was homecoming queen, Hope was Ms. FCS. So appropriate, everybody loved Hope, and she deserved that title. You could most easily find her during her senior year living up every moment with her camera in hand to capture it, taking every chance she could to be with friends. She’d help you justify not doing your homework for that “last time we’ll all go to Cheesecake Factory at lunchtime in February.” Thank you, Hope, for feeding my nostalgic thoughts about high school through your sweet spirit.

Who she is now: Even though Hope is still the same, sweet-spirited little piece of apple pie, she’s truly grown into a woman. Even though I’m not a Baylor Bear, just through passing observation anyone could tell you she has stolen the heart of her University as well. With her love for people unrivaled and her quiet confidence in who the Lord has made her to be, Hope is truly a role model more than she knows. I know her Chi Omega sisters would share my sentiment. She’s studying business now, and when she graduates in May, I wouldn’t be surprised at all if she opened her own business right out of the gates. Because here’s the thing- some things we know won’t change about Hope, her bright personality being one of them. Some things, though, are total wildcards, and she’ll always surprise you. I love that she has that balance of the predictable and the carpe diem attitude in her. She’s such a go-getter, and she’s driven by love. That will get her so far in this life.

Who would play her if my made up book hit the big screens: so hard; maybe someone all-American like Meg Ryan, or if she appeared in singer form, naturally Carrie Underwood

I like that Hope isn’t too far away. With Waco only an hour and a half from College Station, I like the comfort in knowing that I can get to her in a short drive if I have to, and that anytime I head back through to Dallas, she has no excuse to not grab lunch with me. Something that cannot be left out when describing Hope: she is probably the most experienced story-teller of all time. She loves her friends so much and commits every little moment to memory, and she shares that with those she loves. I feel like I personally know her new college friends, and when I get the chance to be with them, I feel like they know me, too. She's just really considerate like that. I love how silly she is, how she’s always willing to be spontaneous, but also just as willing to be lame on a Friday night with me. She’s an incredible cook/baker, and she learned hospitality from her mama. She has strong convictions that she lives by, and she knows when and how to share them. Such a strong woman that truly lives in obedience to her Lord- it makes her even prettier than she already is!

Pictures of Hope

I Love this girl!

RB

My Coolest Friend

First character: Jenilee Thornton.

She already has a cool name before you even meet her. She sounds famous, doesn’t she? Well, although you’ve probably never heard of her unless you are her friend, trust me, you’ll know her soon enough. If any of my friends were going to be famous, it would be her. And the cool thing is, I couldn’t even tell you what she will be famous for, because it’ll probably be one of many things. Whenever I refer to Jeni, as we call her, it sounds something like this: “Oh, I just got off the phone with Jeni! I love her. She’s living in New York right now. She’s the coolest person I know.”
That is no lie.

How I met Jenilee: Jeni and I go way back, as do most of my high school friends. I believe I first met her in fifth grade, at little bitty Faith Christian School, in the “Warehouse” of First Baptist Church Colleyville. It was Faith’s first year of existence, and we were already the cool kids because we got a warehouse instead of a portable- royalty of the elementary world, we were.
My first memory of Jenilee: Out in front of that Warehouse, during the ever-popular “10 minute wiggle” time with our “Fifth Grade Friends” per Mrs. Mason, the most popular activity was a toss- up between wall ball and jackpot. In this particular memory (Jenilee will probably have to clarify because I don’t remember which it was) all I remember is a very eager Jeni sinking her front teeth into the unsuspecting nose of Dara Young, in some sort of collision resulting from the game. Dara had to get stitches.

Highlights of our Glory Years: While Jeni and I clearly ran in the same circle of friends, our personal friendship’s highlights probably come from our Yearbook days. Hours upon countless hours were spent in that yearbook room, slaving over copy and photos, perfecting those pages to the best of our 18 year old abilities, with the passion of editors of a multi-million dollar magazine company. Jeni, the photo editor, and I the editor in chief- we made a fierce duo. But the best parts of those yearbook days didn’t include red-pen frenzy or photoshop madness. The belly-aching laughs with our yearbook advisor and tiny staff of colorful personalities go down in my mind as some of the brightest spots of high school. We all had our place in yearbook, our little family, and I loved every before-and-after-school minute of it.

Who she was then: If Jenilee was a stereotyped high school character, she would be the independent artist. Her love of fashion and current trends left us all in the dust (or maybe I’m only speaking for myself), and as I look down at what I’m wearing now, I think, “Ah, finally! I’m wearing something Jeni would wear!” Too bad it’s what she would have worn at 16, which is obviously cool, but she was just that far ahead! No doubt she’s currently wearing what I’ll be wearing at age 25! (Probably not though, I think my trendiness may only be going on a downhill slope already at age 21.) On any given day of senior year, the best bet for where you could find Jeni would probably be in the “Senior Hall,” (which for the non-Faith alum, was essentially the hallway where the senior class lockers were, with a table and a few fold-up chairs thrown around, until we lost those privileges) Mac book in her lap (which, I didn’t even fully understand at the time, and she may have been the only one to have one at age 16), and Sonic soda in hand. She was probably editing her latest pictures taken by her fancy Canon camera (which were always breath-taking, I might add), sharing her quirky, hilarious sense of humor, making friends with anyone and everyone, and sharing her joy for life with me and my sweet friends. She made school uniforms way cooler, in a way only Jeni could. She found humor in every leadership lesson and crazy Faith-ism around, and she really got us through the craziness. The best part about Jeni- -upcoming artist just doesn’t fully explain her, because I know what image you’re getting in your head, and no, that’s not enough, it doesn’t fully explain Jeni or give her personality nearly enough justice. Take everything you have in your head about what you think she’s like and add cheerleader, volleyball player, and homecoming queen into the mix. Mess with your head a little? Yeah, because Jeni is so unique, she’s so well-rounded, she’s beautiful, and she has such a heart of gold. And she’s only grown more into herself as time goes on.

Who she is now: I wish I knew this answer from a more personal basis, but unfortunately, my dear Jen lives in Nashville, TN. After diligent work on her portfolio for an art degree in photography at Belmont University, Jen’s dreams began to unfold with that acceptance letter. Never did a place fit someone so perfectly, as I got to see first-hand on a trip to Nashville over spring break with another dear friend, Hope, freshman year. I believe Jeni started taking senior photos of the class of 2007, and every year since then, her popularity has grown, and she’s built a small business out of it, especially at Faith. Her work is top-notch, truly innovative, and professional in every sense of the word. Her entrepreneurial spirit has led her to countless top-notch internships that have given her invaluable experience and notoriety. She’s one of the hardest workers I know, too, always balancing school, work, friends, and her passion. She could truly be the face of Nashville- she’s just such a neat person. Now, she’s interning with a designer in NYC (I know, she keeps getting cooler!). She hob-nobs with Manhattan elite, spends her afternoons avoiding the paparazzi, her evenings attending all the invitation-only shows and clubs- ok, maybe not, but that’s how I imagine her sometimes. I’m sure it will happen one day.

Who would play her if my made-up book hit the big screens: Eva Green (Casino Royale Bond girl) based on looks; Zooey Deschanel if we were going for a stronger personality match- what do you think, Jen?

I miss Jen, and our sweet friendship, because even though who I just described to you is truly the beautiful, talented young woman the world sees, those who have the privilege of calling her friend know that she is the definition of loyal. She loves the Lord with all her heart and challenges me each time we talk just through the way she loves people and boldly lives her life. I love that those few times a year we get to be in the same city together, it’s like picking up right where we left off; we cut straight to the point- laughing our heads off at life together.

Pictures of Jenilee











Jeni is too pretty and has too many awesome pictures. I just wanted to share a few (yes, Jen, I stole these straight off your Facebook. I am completely unashamed)
 Love you, Jen <3


RB

I Have Pretty Best Friends

So, I don’t technically have a bucket list, it’s really just more in my head than anything else. But whenever this topic of conversation is brought up, every now and then I’ll throw out my secret desire to be published one day. It used to be a not-so-secret desire as my senior superlative was “Most Likely to be Published.” I was the editor of the yearbook, however, and I think I got that vote as a class thank-you more than anything else. Whenever I bring it up, the next question is always, “What would you write your book about?”

I don’t know.

The best thing I can ever come up with is that my best friends from high school would make excellent inspiration for characters if I ever got the nerve to write a fiction novel. My high school friends are so cool. They are six of the most diverse, interesting, and talented women I’ve ever known, and their continued place in my life is a blessing I do not give nearly enough thanks for. While I have no idea where this fictional novel would take place or even what the story line would be, I can tell you that the characters themselves would make the book. It kind of makes me think of the tv show LOST. What a captivating plotline, so many different directions that storyline could have gone, so many deep, rich meanings and ties to cultural and historical backgrounds, yet in the end, it wasn’t really an ending. It didn’t answer specific questions that maybe you wanted it to answer. However, if you were a Lostie like me, the ending wrapped up perfectly in your heart because, although all the cutting-edge technology and uncharted television waters blew us away, we were captivated by the characters. So that’s where my book in my head stands, a fascinating set of characters that you would fall in love with, but a storyline that isn’t fully developed quite yet. Maybe one day.

Because I told you that the most important things in my life are Jesus and my family and friends, I want to introduce you to them. That way, when you read my book one day, you’ll already have a background on the characters. Ah, you’re gonna love them.

Falling Leaves, Lots of Love, and the Shotgun Formation

October is my favorite month of the year for many reasons.

1)      It’s the beginning of fall.
2)      Fall clothes are way better than summer/spring clothes.
3)      It’s mine and Clayton’s anniversary month (awww)
4)      It’s prime time football season.

Oh, football season. Nothing warms my heart and shatters my dreams at the same time like you do. The smell of the crisp fall air and fresh cut grass has a way of conjuring up Friday night nostalgia like nothing else. In Texas, football is king, and you get wrapped up in this mindset from an early age. I was born in Irving, Texas, right next to the historic Texas Stadium (RIP). I was given the name Raegan after our conservative, Great Communicator, president of the 80’s, Ronald, and even more telling, I was given the middle name Alicia, after Tom Landry’s wife (if you don’t know who that is- well, I pity your soul- but Landry is the beloved head coach of the Cowboys of a bygone era). So, my name could more tellingly read: Conservative Republican Texas Football Branch. And that might just wrap my family up in a nutshell.

Some of my favorite memories as a child involve the precious time I spent watching football on Saturdays with my daddy. Ok, I’ll admit, I wasn’t the most avid fan, but my dad did teach me to appreciate a “fantastic finish” to a game as the entire family was required to come running to the television at these hollered words. Truthfully though, my dad did teach me to appreciate sports, but I was definitely more interested in basketball and baseball as a lil’ girl. However, the subtle indoctrination of football was planted deep in my soul in those days, and it was released in dramatic fashion once high school was upon me.
I could probably dedicate an entire post to high school football. So many wonderful memories of road trips with my best friends, winning season after winning season, those glorified football boys, hundreds of dollars of ribbons and bells in the form of homecoming mums, and unrivaled passion and emotion. Texas is at its finest on Friday nights.

I’ll admit, picking a college was a tough decision. So many factors to consider: a great education, a fun and safe atmosphere, employment opportunities, friends, a football tradition….yes, don’t lie, Texan reader, this factored into your decision whether you want to consciously admit it or not. No, Texas A&M would never be the first team to roll off anyone’s tongue when discussing dynasties of success, but a fiercely loyal fan-base? I’d be offended if my school was not consistently top 5. Let’s not even argue this point- I could tear you apart with my vicious rhetoric and seriously brainwashed faith in my Aggies.

Underneath this outer layer of frilly ruffles and wedding-planner dreams lies a little bit of a tomboy. I’m not ashamed to admit it. I love football. And not in the way that some girls do, the kind of love that coincides with whoever they are currently dating or whatever crowd they are trying to impress or whatever superstar they’ve heard mentioned in the news lately (ex. “Tony Romo is my favorite, he is so attractive and I wear his jersey every Sunday- did you hear he was dating Carrie Underwood? Look at that smile; I love football”) . No, I love football in a way that makes me turn on ESPN on an almost daily basis, or read the sports page, or genuinely listen to my boyfriend when he describes the exact route the team is running along with each player’s assignment. I don’t claim to be an expert by any stretch of the imagination, but don’t judge this southern girl by the cover. I think I love football a little more with every game I watch, it tugs on my heart strings and causes me to do silly things like tear up when I see my QB fracture his left clavicle, thus practically ending my ‘Boys season.

You know what else I love? Writing about football like its religion. Really, writing about anything with more drama than necessary. That’s just me. It comes out when I start using my words. Also, I love Dallas. Anything Dallas, and genuinely become aggravated with anything Houston (that was for you, Chase, Jimmy and friends).

Hope you enjoyed :)


RB

Hello, This is Me

Hello, This is Me

Ah, the blog I promised. Why has it taken me so long to get it started? Well, several reasons. One, writing is something I have always LOVED to do, but have not done near enough of in the past year, and quite honestly, I wasn’t sure if I was good at it anymore. And maybe good isn’t even the right word, because that’s totally debatable. Two, if I was going to do a blog, I wanted to do it right. I’ve debated in my head for months lately trying to decide what I would share with the world if I could (or maybe just the few random people that were bored enough to read it, on a less dramatic scale). Three, because I just haven’t seen the time lately. With a new job and a whole new schedule for my body to get used to, it’s taken some time for me to adjust. And now that I have, I think I may have more time than ever before, really. Praise Jesus!

So what is this blog about, you ask? Well, it’s not nearly as novel as I had hoped it would be as I searched my brain for something truly unique. Nope, turns out I’m a pretty simple girl and I like simple things. My blog will not look much different than the millions of other narcissistic blogs out there, only I hope I  won’t be too vain. Really, my best writing comes out when I write about things I’m passionate about- whose wouldn’t? What am I passionate about? Most importantly, it’s unashamedly my Jesus. You will hear me talk about Him most because, well, He’s my everything, and I hope I convey that well. Second, it’s the people the Lord has put into my life. My loving and ever-devoted family, my sweet, sweet friends both in College Station and around the nation, (and WORLD, Allison!), and the new friends the Lord has brought into my life are easily the biggest blessings around me. That’s what you need to know about me. Anything else that pops up on this blog is just the simple blessings the Lord throws in for fun, because He’s a loving God and He wants me to see Him in everything. I get to revel in His beauty and joy when He gives me sweet gifts, and He gets glory in that. I’m all about that.

I won’t write everyday- I don’t have that kind of time. You wouldn’t read every day either, so I’m not worried. You may never read again, but that’s ok, I love to put my heart on paper (or Microsoft Word, either way). It organizes my thoughts and brings me perspective even as I do it. But I hope you’ll tune in, if only for a chance to worship with me as I live this life. This life is not always easy, but as I’ve found in the past, writing always helps my heart to worship in every season, and I hope you’ll do that with me. I won’t always be serious, I may never be funny unfortunately, but I hope your heart smiles every time you come!

Thanks for sharing life with me, friend.

RB