The first thing you’ll notice about Mel Bell is her name- yes, she is our first friend that gets to fill in the “Maiden Name” portion of any paperwork. I’ll admit, seeing Davis by her name still freaks me out a little bit, and when she pops up on my newsfeed, I still have to do a double-take every now and then. She’ll be married a year in December, but it still seems like yesterday that she quietly came onto the scene at Faith and into our lives. It was Melanie that introduced us all to the wonders (?) of Taylor Swift before anyone was “thinking Tim Mcgraw,” her sweet spirit that always brought us down to earth, and her incredibly delicate palate that changed our lunch plans on a regular basis. She’s one of those people that downplays their own abilities to the point that you could miss the “yesterday I wrote a computer program” in the midst of the “I chipped my new manicure on the keyboard.” She is understatedly brilliant.
How I met Melanie: I don’t really remember. She seemed to just materialize into the fabric of our lives so effortlessly that I don’t recall a beginning in detail. She came to Faith in her freshman year, but she wasn’t the type to storm onto the scene, making waves and pushing buttons. Her quiet assuredness kind of made you wonder if she had been there from the beginning and you had just missed her somehow. But she didn’t have to try to be someone she wasn’t to make friends- she was easy to be friends with, and thus her presence in our little circle increased over time as we got to see the real Melanie, with all her curios facets.
My first memory of Melanie: If you can’t remember a beginning, “firsts” seem to escape the memory. In the beginning, Mel was kind of a floater; she didn’t need any one person or one group’s approval. She had dear friends outside of school, and I think that contributed to her less aggressive approach to friend-making at Faith. Which totally worked in her favor- I can’t think of a single person in the world who disliked her, but then again, how could you dislike her? I do remember her funny little quips to herself in class; she was always muttering something under her breath, usually sarcastic, that she didn’t intend for anyone to hear. I, however, sarcastic fool that I am, found her hilarious, and when we both joined the yearbook staff in our sophomore year, I got to see the full range of Melanie’s many moods. Oh, how she could bring even the most frazzled staff to belly-aching laughs with her high pitched squeals and candid retorts when Photoshop just wouldn’t crop or the text could not be watered down!
Highlights of our Glory Years: The great majority of our laughs stemmed from our yearbook days- Mel, you were quite the comic relief! Once she had you lulled into thinking she was harmless and innocent, she would unleash wrath on you in one violent, terrible eruption of emotion. And then you still laughed, somehow! She would always voice out loud (or at least subtly jibe) the things that you were only thinking. Her plethora of agitations and pet peeves led to the infamous Grievance List, a chronicle of all nuisances that plagued the yearbook staff. “Grievance” became a token word in class whenever someone would toe the line of idiocracy- whether they misused the word “literally”, used too many abbrevs, or couldn’t master the delicate differences of to, two, and too, Mel was the first to jump to the scene of the crime and throw out a “grievance” warning.
Who she was then: Melanie could best be described as our dose of sanity; she could always bring us back to reality when our emotions got the best of us. Whenever it was share-all time, she was usually the first to think and the last to speak, which generally meant she could say something a little more even-tempered than the rest of us. Sure, she had her spaz outs (who didn’t?) but the way she kept her distance from high school drama undeniably kept her head on straight. She always seemed to have a boyfriend (she may hate me for saying that), but what I really mean to get at is that she has always been relationship-driven. Not just with the opposite sex, but with people. It was no surprise to me that she was the first to say, “I do.” She was just so easy to get along with, so relatable. Her easy-going temperament made it easy to ask her to accompany you to the bathroom or help you on your homework, and we all know just how valuable those are in high school.
Who she is now: It’s so hard to pin down who she is now because marriage has a way of changing your life forever, and since I don’t yet know what that kind of change brings about, I can’t pretend I know her daily joys and trials. I do know the Melanie that I get to see on holidays is still full of life, but she also seems to be full of a little more wisdom as well. She still knows what to say when you’re hurting, still laughs just as hard at your stories (even if she doesn’t know the people you’re talking about). She’s absolutely brilliant; I truly can’t put into words what she does because, well, I just don’t understand it. She has an inexplicable talent with computers and has landed all kinds of jobs that are generally reserved for computer brainiacs and techies. I can just imagine the looks she must have received when she walked into businesses as their computer consultant- sweet little blonde Mel, they must have thought it was a joke! It makes me think of a movie when I picture the scene (or a great excerpt in my book??) She's living the dream right now, married, living in her posh Dallas apartment, working and finishing up her degree...but she's earned this new phase in life, her patience and hard work truly paying off.
Who would play her if my made-up book hit the big screens: I think someone quirky and sweet like Reece Witherspoon. Yes, that’s perfect.
Sometimes, when I just need to blow off some steam or vent some frustrations, I wish Mel was there to feel every anxious feeling with me, toss some humor at it, and help me casually move on from it in the way that only she can. I bet living with her would be so fun- she always pulls out the unexpected, shocks you with her witticisms and random talents, and just knows how to be a good girlfriend (I’m jealous, Grant, you found such a keeper!). On a more serious note, I think Mel could handle married life at an earlier age simply because she was ready; she’s wise beyond her years, her maturity level is much higher than the average 21-year-old, and her trust in the Lord is something I admire. She’s always had such a strong commitment to the body of believers the Lord has given her through her church home, and she invests in people, no matter who they are. I hope to take some lessons from you one day, Mel!
Pictures of Melanie
You are beautiful, Mel Bell!
RB
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