To my Friend, Emily: Playing Barbies, sleepovers, and having the neighborhood as our playground, those really were more simple times. It seems like only yesterday when we sat down with “Little Mindy” in the summer sun and you both dared me to eat tortilla chips with grass. You assured me it tasted pretty good and though I was a bit frightened at the thought, I took a bite and I’ll be! You were right…though I never was sure if you had really tried it out first or if I was really the guinea pig. I truly have the worst memory in the world and when everybody else seems to remember something, it seems to have slipped from my mind as the time has passed. And, though memories I have of you have also slipped through the cracks and caverns of my mind, your presence has not. I knew that, with you, I would never feel underappreciated, I would never feel threatened, I would never be belittled, and I would never be pushed down. With you, I always felt appreciated, I felt safe, I felt my confidence boosted, I felt lifted up. Thank you for being my friend Emily! Until we meet again…