I don't really know how to start talking about my best friend of 14 years. So I'll start here: Leanne is a beauty, wouldn't you agree? But the thing is, she has no idea how beautiful she is. And she's even more lovely once you get to know her.
Leanne and I met in college when we were both attending the University of North Texas. For some stupid reason, we wasted a year and didn't become immediate friends while living in Bruce Hall. Seriously, teenage girls can be so weird. Fast forward to the one day we just decided to have a conversation... we instantly hit it off. I still remember how fun and interesting she was. I was totally intrigued by her, and so glad we were finally becoming friends. Soon after that we became roommates and would remain so until we graduated. When I look back, I can remember so clearly some of my favorite memories living with her. We would walk to class together, have early morning conversations about the night before (if I knew she was awake, I'd get up, no matter how early even if we didn't get much sleep the night before), go on spontaneous trips to the lake, go listen to our friend's bands play, have a weekly Zoolander night, and then there was the late night gate jumping to go swimming after hanging out with our friends at Lucky Lous. This girl and I had FUN in college.
After that, we moved to different cities, and we haven't gotten to see each other nearly enough. She went on to live in Florida, then Colorado, and finally Oregon. During that time period we went through one of the worst things a person can experience; we lost Jessica and our lives wouldn't ever be quite the same. After that, I visited as much as I could, and our friendship became even stronger.
Leanne is the person who probably knows me best in this world. Sometimes I think she knows me better than I know myself. She is one of my biggest cheerleaders and has always been here to support and comfort me. She's loved me at my best and loved me harder at my worst. She constantly reminds me that life is an adventure and that we should never take our days for granted. She motivates me to be a stronger, better person, even though she's always thought I was good enough the way I am. She respects our differences and understands that even though we might not always see things the same way, that doesn't have to come between us or weaken our friendship. Even the miles between us, even though they make it difficult to visit, are just miles, and she's always just a phone call away. She is fiercely loyal, and very intelligent. She loves her family and loves being in nature. She's also very creative, and I'm glad she's finally using her talent to make things. She also shares my love of two-stepping, and I can always count on her to go to the Broken Spoke when we're both in Austin at the same time.
She's one of the greatest people I know on this earth, and I am so lucky to call her my best friend and have so many great adventures with her. And I know we still have so many great adventures to come.
**This is part of the 52 portraits series**
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