Memory #1.
I met Gabe when we were in 7th grade at the good ole jr high. We were in the same PE class (because that's obviously where all the best stories start), but being the awkward teenagers that we were, didn't really talk to each other or become friends until a few years later.
I remember thinking Gabe was the cutest kid ever. But duh I never had the guts to say hi to him. Let alone talk to any boy in the seventh grade.. Plus, Gabe doesn't even remember meeting me. Or that we had PE together. So obviously things didn't get good till later (insert winkey face here).
Memory #2
One time I was hanging out with a few of my girl friends on a Saturday night. Someone who was at the stake dance was texting my friend Amanda and told us that Gabe and some of his friends were there. Once we gained this valuable piece of insight we all looked at each other and simultaneously screamed, "We have to go!!!!!" So we went to the stake dance only because those cute boys were there. (stake dances were the lames of the lame)
Some magical fairy dust was sprinkled over us or something because all of a sudden BAM... friends. All throughout 9th grade, my little group of girl friends hung out with Gabe and his little group of guy friends pretty much all the time. IT WAS SO FUN. I remember doing everything together. We went to all the haunted houses that fall, hung out at each others houses every weekend, ate lunch in the seminary building together, it was the greatest. That's when I sort of started to have a crush on little Gabey. One time I remember I wanted to say something really funny in front of Gabe to make him think I was really cool. But I was so nervous about it! Seriously you guys, I practiced what I was going to say..... So at lunch one day, my friends and I rushed out to the seminary building (because I knew Gabe was going to be out there) and I picked a spot to sit right by the window so I could watch for him. Sure enough, he was coming! And I was prepared hahah. He came in and sat by us (phase one: complete). I then casually proceeded to ask the group (mostly Gabe), "wanna know what's intense? (insert me nervously pausing for effect)..... "sleeping bags". Cue the laughter. My plan was a total success. Gabe thought I was funny. SCORE.
So fast forward to Sophomore year. My friends and I were all interested in the senior boys (two words... tyson dennert). And the relationships we had with Gabe and his friends kind of disappeared for a little bit. We were always friends, we just didn't hang out like we did when we were freshmen. We stopped talking to each other and it gradually got really awkward whenever we would see each other in the halls. But remember.. we never stopped being friends.
Sophomore year was crucial though.
I turned 16 in October (gabe is 5 months younger than me). I was pretty excited about going on real actual dates for the first time and, like any other newly 16 year old girl, was interested in the "older boys" (the juniors whose lockers where right across the hall from ours). So my friends and I were totally focused on those older boys. In fact, two of my friends ended up dating some of those boys for over a year! Nuts. But for me, this was an important time, and I think it was really good for me to have the experiences that I did.. and I'll tell you why. There were 3 boys that kind of came after me that year. And each time I sort of freaked out. I don't really enjoy being the center of attention. It just makes me feel weird okay? So that happened and I was not a fan. Then, one of the 3 boys started calling me his girlfriend. WHAT THE WHAT?! I never agreed to be his girlfriend. And that totally offended me. Especially because I made a promise to myself that I would NEVER have a boyfriend in high school. I knew having a boyfriend wasn't the right thing to do and I didn't want to feel dependent on a stupid boy who would break up with me in 2 months anyways (because that's how high school works). So I kind of told them off. All of them. Friend zoned. No mercy. Okay maybe a little bit of mercy and I actually felt really bad because they were all great guys and I enjoyed being their friend! I just wanted to be only friends. So that's pretty much how Sophomore year went. Really the only time Gabe and I ever hung out or talked to each other was at a party or something. I don't really remember. All I know is that I missed being good friends with him and looking back on that time now, we were both dumb for acting the way we did.
YA LIVE YA LEARN.
That summer got better though. Me and my friends got right back into the swing of things with him and his friends. To this day, that was the best summer of my life! Gabe and I got really close again. We would text each other all the time and it was super fun. Then something changed and I got all weirded out by the attention again.
And pretty much, to save you the boring details, I friend zoned Gabe.
And from what I remember he was mad about it. So then we just stopped talking all together, and neither of us said a word to each other for the better part of three whole months...
So junior year started and Gabe and I still weren't talking to each other. His locker was three away from mine and whenever we'd both be there neither of us would say anything. We'd just keep to ourselves and mind our own business. It made me sad but at the same time I felt like if he wanted to talk to me he would. So I didn't let it bother me too much. Well, sophomore year pretty much repeated itself with the boys. There we're a few other guys who wanted my attention so I gave it to them. But the same thing happened. I told them I wasn't looking for a boyfriend and being friends was way more funner. (Side note: I had my heart broken. That's a whole other story... but bottom line is I learned AGAIN that boys are so dumb and that in high school they just don't care about you. They only care about themselves and making themselves look good. Somehow I always allowed myself to get comfortable around the boys who were jerks). Around this time my awesome uncle jake gave me some of the best advice I've ever gotten. He told me that I am a chooser. I have the ability to choose for myself. I don't have to settle for the first boy that's nice to me. I don't have to do anything I'm not comfortable with. I can choose how to live my life and I don't have to do anything (or be around anyone) that doesn't make me happy. And that gave me all the power.
About half way through junior year, Gabe and I started talking to each other again. I don't really remember what made us get over ourselves, but boy was I glad we did. We started hanging out with each other and texting all the time just like before, and I eventually asked him to be my date to sweethearts. So that day finally came and we had a lot of fun! Yes there were awkward parts where we didn't really know what to say to each other and yes we were shy when we had to do the "date" stuff (take pictures, let him get my door, etc...). So no, it wasn't perfect. But by the time we left the dance, we were joking and laughing and holding hands (only like the second or or third time he tried to hold my hand ever), and we were both perfectly happy. And tired since we just danced our booties off.
And that's pretty much how the rest of the year went. We hung out with each other a lot and were two happy clams for the most part. Then soccer season started for me and golf season started for him and we didn't talk or hang out as much. I was busy. Really really busy. And this was when I was focusing super super hard on getting recruited for college soccer. Like, dead focused. Anything besides soccer really didn't matter to me (Friends, school, everything). I even told people I wasn't going to prom because there was a soccer tournament that weekend. I know Gabe wanted to ask me so I just made it clear to him I didn't want to go. But I guess I wasn't clear enough because I got asked by another guy friend. So I think Gabe finally had it. He texted me one day and told me he felt like we were distant. We didn't have a lot of common stuff to talk about because me being who I am, I don't like to talk openly about my stresses and feelings and frustrations. Even to my own family. So Gabe simply asked "what do you want from me?" Okay. I took forever to respond because first I had to think about what I really wanted from Gabe, and second I typed and retyped the message 4 times. After like 15 minutes I came up with something pretty good. I told Gabe that I really cared about him but all I wanted to be was friends. I wanted him to be my best friend. Someone I could talk to about whatever and be my complete self around. I wanted him to talk to me all the time and check up on me like he's always done.
After sending that message, my heart beat so hard for 3 minutes while I waited for a response. I was really worried Gabe wouldn't like what I told him and we'd stop talking like we did before. But I was more than pleasantly surprised when the ringer on my phone went off and I opened that message and learned that Gabe totally had my back. He told me he really cared about me too and he'd do whatever would make me happy because he valued our friendship and didn't want to lose me again. All was well in the Gabe-Sierra relationship world.
Then junior prom happened and me and my date were in a group with Gabe and his date and bunch of our other friends. I was worried it was going to be weird since I told Gabe I didn't want to go with him. But no. It was awesome. We all had so much fun and it wasn't weird or awkward at all! The only thing about that was, more than once I looked over at Gabe and his date and just thought to myself "Dang. That could've been me." Because who doesn't want to go to prom with your best friend! But oh well. It was my choice and it ended up being really fun anyways.
The rest of junior year was great. Everyone was friends with everyone and I was feeling gooooood.
Then, as summer was winding down, it started to happen again... I was getting attention from another guy. Haha you're all like "here we go again". Just hang in there okay?! It's not always like this. Just get through this last part. Anyways. I let this boy steal my attention for a while. And that's how summer ended. Gabe was my best friend and got like 70% of my attention but this other kid was fighting for the last 30. That's how senior year started for me. Gabe was a friend. And I was flirting with boy #2. So yes. Gabe and I didn't talk as much for a while. And the whole time I knew I wasn't being a good friend. To anyone really. So one night I had a come to Jesus talk with myself. I said to myself "this isn't what I want!" And I remembered back to my uncle's advice about being a chooser. I thought, "How could I be so stupid...?" I ALREADY HAD EVERYTHING I WANTED. And everything I wanted was Gabe. It's true everyone. He's the best person. He's the ONLY boy I can't be completely weird and random and obnoxiously myself around (Because that's exactly how he is too). And I was happy when I spent time with him! We both have the same friends so we can hang out with everyone and still be together. See? It's the best deal. So I came to the conclusion that I don't need any other attention from any other boys. (Yes it's nice to talk to and hang out with other boys every once in a while. I'm not saying don't do that--because I totally did that and it was great. I'm just saying Gabe was my homeboy, #1 favorite and I didn't need any other dumb high school boy to give me "special" attention. Ya feel me? I'm sorry if this is confusing. It makes sense in my brain). And also, because it's my senior year, all I want to do is have fun! I don't have a lot of time left with these people so I really want to make the most of it and be with those who I care about most. That mentality made senior year freaking awesome.
Gabe and I did everything together. (One of my favorites was when we would play uno at my house. We'd play for hours. And I would win EVERY SINGLE TIME. It was so funny because Gabe would get soooo mad. To this day I am reigning champion). He'd come with me to Lyndsey's dance recitals, we'd watch movies (and he'd fall asleep holding my hand. too cute), we went to lunch together, went for walks around the river often, stood by each other at basketball games, went to school events together, made "top 10" lists for everything, got each other the SAME thing for Christmas, we'd text each other constantly, and when one of us would be gone for whatever reason, life just wasn't the same. In other words, we'd miss each other... A lot. Being a senior was so fun together.
One thing that will probably always stand out to me (among others) is when Gabe and I went for one of our frequent walks around the river. We were talking about growing up and how scary it felt and how we weren't sure if we could handle all the pressure. It was a serious, and maybe a little bit painful, talk for sure. I remember Gabe confessing to me how scared he was about going on a mission (the new age change was a hard thing to think about). This meant that Gabe was going to have his mission call THIS SCHOOL YEAR. And he'd be leaving to serve the Lord not long after we graduate. Holy poop. I could tell he was really nervous and anxious about it, but I also knew that my role as his best friend was to comfort and encourage him. So that's exactly what I did. I told him he could absolutely do it. That he'd be a great missionary and that 2 years ain't no thang! And that was pretty much it. The conversation shifted and we moved on to something a little more silly haha.
A few months later that big while envelope found its way to Gabe's house and it was finally time to find out where he'd be going (and when) on his mission!! We were both oh so excited. (I was super nervous too..)
CUSCO PERU, SEPTEMBER 9TH
HOLY FETCH
I was sooooooo excited for him. And I still am!! From that point on we talked about his mission a lot. And as weird as it may seem, knowing what we had to look forward to after high school (college soccer, mission) made the future/growing up seem less scary.
The rest of senior year went off without a hitch. We still did everything together and hung out almost every weekend (sometimes week nights too). It was seriously a blast and I can honestly say Gabe was and still is my very best friend. We even graduated high school together. Imagine that.
^^senior prom with this boy was the greatest ever^^
That summer was another really great one. It was full of the best things! Soccer, good food, friendship, memories.
But D day was always in the back of both of our minds. We talked about it sometimes but really tried to avoid the topic because it brought tears to the eyes and made us really sad. I had to leave to go to school on August 8th. A whole month before Gabe would leave on his mission. All summer I dreaded the day where I would have to say goodbye to my best friend. I couldn't think about it and I couldn't talk about it. But eventually the inevitable came and we had our last day together. All I know is I've never done anything so hard. I was totally heartbroken to say see you later. And he was too. It was a surreal moment and the days after it were just as melancholy. But we both knew it was the right thing. Heck, we wouldn't have done it if it wasn't!
^^this was the last day together^^
I'm now in Virginia and in two days my sweet best friend leaves to serve the people of Peru. Those are some lucky people. Despite the distance, despite everything pinned against us, our friendship will never change. It will only grow! I'm so excited to write letters to this sweet boy and hear all about how he's saving souls and stuff. It's going to be a long, hard two years but they're going to be the best two yeas of both of our lives!
So to you, Gabe, I LOVE YOU!!! Thank you for being the best friend anyone could be lucky enough to have. I already miss your contagious giggle and good night hugs. But I'll be right here waiting for those when you come back!
Go out there and kill it in Peru. I know you will.
See you soon G-Money!!
^^I took this. Seriously what a handsome kid. I die^^
