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
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