HERE GOES IT:
It was move-in day of freshman year. Coming from out-of-state, I obviously didn’t know a single person and was terrified. It didn’t help that I was from Michigan either (apparently Ohioans hate this state?...) I was unpacking in my room, Steeb Hall 422, when an unknown girl bounced in. My roommate and I had earlier put in the Mean Girls DVD and this stranger in our doorway glanced at the TV, then back at us, and then loudly proclaimed “HE’S SEXY!!” in reference to the movie’s male suitor.
Who IS this person? I checked her out from her tank top to her fuzzy slippers as she made herself comfortable on our futon. After small-talk and establishing the crucial “yeah I like to party” topic, Mary Ann or whatever her name was asked for my number. Reluctantly, I gave it to her.
The first few days of school I would see Miriam time to time in the hallways of Steeb. I would smile and wave but that was the extent of our exchange. Frankly, she scared me. She was loud and ready to party hard. At the time, I had yet to come out of my small town shell and couldn’t take the Russian heat.
It was not until the first Saturday home football game that Meem and I bonded. We were walking back from getting Catfish Biffs and headed to a party Miriam had convinced me to go to. I nervously followed her down High Street, hesitant to go to my first pre-game party and hesitant to go with this wild girl for that matter. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a car smashed into the rear of another and shattered glass showered down on us.
“WE COULD’VE DIED!!!” we screamed as we ran away from the scene. We breathlessly brushed the glass off one another and laughed at our close call with death. It was in that moment running down High Street I looked at her for who she really was - a friend. We continued on to the party oblivious to the fact the car incident would be mild compared to future Holly and Miriam adventures.
It took a fender bender to solidify the BFF status but I am grateful to the person who slammed on his brakes a little too late. Who started as a crazy rando bursting in my dorm became my other half. What would have been a scary freshman year, Miriam made unforgettable by throwing me my first (and best) birthday away from home. She was the one encouraging me to take Beta’s 3 story beer bong, dancing with me in Nut House cage, teaching me how to blow in beer pong and assuring me it wasn’t that bad to skip class to play in the Oval. I honestly believe I would have been aimlessly wandering around Ohio State’s campus lost and confused all of freshman year had I not met Meem.
Four years later, Miriam and I have a lengthy roster of college adventures and awkward situations. From personal problems to walk-of-shame stories, her number is the first I dial. Break-ups, bad hangovers, job disappointments, annoying bops - she has been with me through it all. Hell, this blog wouldn’t be here without our brilliant brainstorm over a lunch and her enthusiasm.
I promise all blog posts won’t be as cheesy as this but I figured you could use the background story on my fellow “summer in-between” partner. Although she already celebrated yesterday, I again wish my best friend a very happy birthday. She deserves it right people?!!
Hol
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