6.7.23 // Elizabeth

You know those people...
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The ones you can be your true unedited version of yourself around?
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For me, Elizabeth is one of those humans and today is her Birthday!
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I met Elizabeth on Bumble BFF which I think is hilarious since that was such a short-lived chapter in my life. We matched, chatted for a minute, then faded into the ether of the "connected but never connected" category. Then one day I found myself at a trail race... I wasn't running but was there to support and cheer on the sidelines. I was in my own little world when Elizabeth, who just finished the race, approached me. "Hey, I think we matched on Bumble BFF!" We had a quick conversation and re-committed to a hangout.
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What I didn't know was that 3-minute interaction was about to lead me to one of my favorite people and completely shift even my basic understanding of a healthy and beautiful friendship. Elizabeth is an incredibly bright light in my life and one of my best friends who I share my heart with, both when it is exploding out of my body with excitement and when it is broken. She is someone who is beautiful, brilliant, and bravely bold.
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And while we live in different countries, we have sent enough voice notes to fill hours of playlists. Did you know there is a 30-minute voice note limit on WhatsApp? I didn't, but thanks to Elizabeth I now know what it's like to need more than 30 minutes to catch up via voicenote.
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Why not just have a call?! Well, we have those scheduled too. Life, love, happiness, sadness, anxiety, and stress- we share it all. We talk about how we can be better friends, and she is with me trying to redefine communication, support, and deep friendship on a level that works for both of us.
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Needless to say, I'm grateful for her and I'm grateful to have spent the last year and a half sending each other dumb selfies, and random thoughts, celebrating each other's victories and fiercely defending each other's hearts if they start to break. Love you, Elle. Happy Birthday!