From 12 to 20-somethings

HOLY SHIT, WE GREW UP FAST.

Trashed @ ‘GRAMS’ - a vacant house that we used to party at every weekend lol

Ya know when you’re little, and you grow up watching shows like The Hills.

You aspire to live like that, minus some of the drama. But the apartments, the fancy jobs, the parties, the rooftop bars, OMGGG gimme that CiTyyY LiFeE* - amiiiriiiight?!

Maybe that was part of growing up in a smaller town. I just envied the lifestyle. I couldn’t WAIT to grow up and be in my 20-somethings, flirting it up with my best friends in a big city doing God knows what for a job. Just something fancy. 

When you’re younger, you talk A LOTT about what it’s going to be like when you get older. What your life will look like. And naturally, you ask your best friend sitting beside you “do you think we will be best friends when we’re older?” And it’s always “omg yesss offf course” — and you carry on your life. I had a ton of moments like this. Honestly. I had several groups of friends through out my years, all in which I could have SWORE we all made promises to be “best friends forever.” But ya know, life happens. You grow apart, you get boyfriends, you go to college, you move across the country, etc. 

Mercy & I were different. Somehow, through all the years, through all the different friend groups we encountered- we have stayed best friends.

She was the first place I ever -comfortably- spent the night at someone’s house without wanting to call my mommy in the middle of the night to come get me. (LOL I knowww I’m not the only one) 

She never got tired of me taking THOUSANDS of pictures of us. Not once. 

We had our first boyfriends together. 

We had our first entry into “womanhood” together, lol.

We watched really, really weird videos together.

We shared a twin bed. We made weird videos. We went streaking a lot. We longboarded everywhere. We lived at Taco Bell. (Wow we sound like real winners here) 

And now, over 10 years later — This is what it’s like:

Mercy visits me in phoenix from LA, and we go to a comedy club downtown. We laugh, drink a few too many Moscow mules, and shove an overpriced pretzel down our mouths. We sing & dance to live music, but mainly cheering on the background dancers. We find a table where It overlooks downtown and just talk about how freaking CRAZY life is. Like look at where we are. 

And it was one of those moments where time stood still and I thought to myself. “Holy shit - I am living a life that my younger self would have dreamed of.” 

I am at a rooftop bar in a big city, downtown, that I LIVE IN, with my childhood BFF, drinking Moscow mules, and dancing. My (sober) husband picks us up, and we get dominoes on the way home. We smash some pizza @ 2am and fall asleep watching Netflix. Life is good. I’m basically living The Hills life I dreamt of, minus the drama + shady men lol. 😝 (we both are in steady relationships, WHO WOULD’VE THOUGHT lol) 

Our 6th grade selves would be so proud. 

Life in between all of this hasn’t been easy, but it’s all worth it. Both of us have been through some dark phases in life and it’s so cool to me to actually have someone I can lean on no matter what.
I freaking LOVE you mercdog. Thanks for being you. Thanks for making me, ME.
xoxox.

RIP to those glasses that I left at this bar. :(