Okay, I promise I am not just trying to plug my company. (Which you should go buy something from... HERE!!)
But really, these pictures mean a lot to me because they were taken in one of my favorite places on earth, Milledgeville. And the people in them are very important to me as well. Obviously I am a fan of my BFF Katherine, my smokin' hot boyfriend Geoff, my fellow YL leaders, and of course my ADPi sistahs... but most importantly, that cute blonde by the white column in the coral shirt... Ellen Staton... that girl is something else.
Ellen and I met while she was a high school student at John Milledge Academy in Milledgeville, GA. I was a junior in college, and a Young Life leader at JMA. I always recognized Ellen because she was about 8 inches taller than me, and you couldn't miss her beautiful long blond hair flying in the wind as she ran down the soccer field. I would go sit at the JMA soccer games and of course we never talked because I thought she was too cool to want to hang out with a lame Young Life leader. You may think I am being some kind of sarcastic, but if you have ever been a Young Life leader you know what I mean. I am more intimidated by pretty high schoolers now than I was when I was in high school! So anyways, back to Ellen. When I would see her in the hallway I always knew she was the girl with the zebra backpack. How can you miss a multi-colored zebra backpack? One day when she was walking out of the building, I word vomited "Hey, I uhhh like your backpack." And that was it. That was the moment. Over a backpack... our friendship began.
Bonding over Soccer
From that point forward we recognized each other and said hello when we crossed paths at JMA, but things never got too serious. It wasn't until I gave my first Young Life talk that we started to click. In my intro, I just wanted to break the ice with the crowd. So I said silly things such as "I have a little brother, my favorite color is yellow, and my dog is overweight..." Little did I know, Ellen was sitting in the crowd connecting with me on every word because of her little brother Charlie, her favorite color being yellow, and her love for her fat dog! A couple weeks later, I decided to skip my 2 o' clock class and asked Ellen if she wanted to go eat ChickFilA together. We bonded. It was fate. We became friends so quickly! It was one of those times where it's effortless to hang out with someone because you fit so well together.
Playing field games at Sharptop Cove
Pre-Muck Fest 2011
Post-Muck Fest.... Ew.
Ellen's high school graduation
As Ellen embarked on her senior year and committed to going to UGA, I was sad to lose her distance-wise but grateful for our friendship. Then to my surprise, she changed her mind at the last minute and decided to go to Georgia College. Every one thought she was crazy because people used to choose GCSU as a fall back for getting rejected from UGA... but TIMES ARE A' CHANGIN' PEOPLE!
So Ellen became a Bobcat and decided to go through recruitment. Now let me say this. Joining a sorority and going through the recruitment process looks like one of the most fun experiences via Facebook albums. In my opinion, transitioning to college, moving away from your family and friends, your life literally changing over night and to top it off you are going to tea parties with strangers that want you to join their group... that is overwhelming! So Ellen may have gotten a little stressed out (happens to the best of us) and had a few freak out moments. Those moments were so sweet to me. I got to take on the role of a caretaker and loving friend in that season of change for Ellen. It gave me such an appreciation for the time I got to spend with her as her Young Life leader because it gave us the perfect relationship to be able to lean on each other and trust each other when the going got tough. Things obviously got better, they always do. And now Ellen gets to be the shoulder to cry on for a new freshman experiencing all the hard stuff that comes with moving to college.
Ellen and I at the ADPi Bid Day Band Party with sno-cone turned red tongues!
Ellen fell over after she found out I was her Big! (This was after we convinced her that she would probably end up getting a random person as her big)
Those are tears of joy!!
After Initiation dinner at the Milledgeville Country Club
Even though some of my most wonderful memories with my Ellen are when she became part of ADPi, the coolest, most meaningful times with her were when I got to watch her go through YoungLife leader training and become a Young Life leader at Georgia Military College.
Ellen with all the weirdos on her GMC Young Life team.
During the Spring 2012 Young Life Banquet honoring graduating senior Young Life leaders, each senior was talked about by a fellow leader. Naturally, my best friend Katherine got up to talk about me. But after Katherine's words and while we were about to move on to the next person, the same girl that I used to watch glide down the soccer field with her long blonde hair made her way up to the front with tear filled eyes. My sweet Ellen was headed to the front to talk about me in front of everyone. About 3 milliseconds later, there was not a dry eye in sight.
Graduating senior Young Life leaders
I cannot put into words what an honor it was to disciple Ellen Staton through Young Life and to later be able to serve alongside her in Young Life. Our friendship has seen joyful moments and heartbreaking pain, we have walked through trials together and we have tackled uncharted territories as a team. We got to ask each other hard questions and we had to receive even harder answers. My life was changed by a girl that I complimented about a colorful zebra backpack. She may tell you that because I was older than her and because I was her Young Life leader that she was the one that learned from me, but don't listen to her for one second because her love for Jesus and her passion for making His name known, her patience, kindness, and generosity all sharpened me and taught me valuable lessons.
I am so thankful for my sweet Ellen.
My sweet Ellen after the Young Life banquet.
Now go shopping on the Peach State Pride website!
Judge me for thinking this is the greatest story ever. I am crying. Because I love Young Life. And GCSU. And Jesus. And I know how those things work together. Love everything about it.
ReplyDeleteAlso. I will validate you: Highschoolers are terrifying.