Meet Jazz

Preface: The theme of this came out of a silly idea to compile sort of a personality profile including 100 people I met in college. As my list grows of individuals to write about, my feelings about this whole idea have changed. It has gone from "look how different my friends are ha ha ha" to "wow, he/she really impacted my life." As cliche as it sounds, each one of them have been part of the journey to who I have become. That is so cliche that it almost makes me feel dumb to even type it, but it is undeniable. Some have been a big part of helping me let of go the past, some have laid a foundation of footsteps I want to follow in, and some have shown me exactly the person to never be again. In some way, every college age person goes through this. It really is the time that shapes us. We are shaped by each person that enters our journey and the path that they are on as well. With that said, my heart is thankful for the randomness of those I met in college!

With that said, let me journey back to where it all began! Meet Jazz!

My first impression of this lovely gal was a quite interesting one. We had communicated over email after finding out that we would be roommates at Campbellsville, but you still never know what exactly you are getting yourself into. As we moved in that fall day, bags and boxes started to empty and our personal touches started to be placed around the room. Now, it didn't take long for us to connect as we were both full of energy and excitement to be there. We seemed a lot a like, with similar interests and likes. Which was somewhat true. Then again, I couldn't help but to notice some of the things she was unpacking. The best example of this is the posters: first one up was multicolored butterflies, second one up was puppies, third one up was Good Charlotte, forth one up was Avril Lavine with hot pink lips. Until we got to know each other better, I was convinced my roommate had multiple personalities with her black knee high zipper boots and flowery tank tops . It turned out that she was completely normal and absolutely precious. When the word unique is used, even if not purposeful, it sometimes holds a negative connotation. Jazz gives that word the most positive meaning possible. The girl just does her own thing, and loves every minute of it. Her joy seems impossible to be true, but it is! Our hall was the hall of misfit toys, which could have been miserable since we were so different, but with Jazz it was nothing but fun! Funny experiences just followed us. That year held tough times for both of us, but her will to fight them exceeded any effort I had ever seen. Nothing would make her give up on a worthy cause. Lucky for me, she saw me as a worthy cause. This friend was one that would defend me to the death even if I was wrong. When I think about her, my heart gets heavy wishing that I would have been half of the friend she was to me. See, I got distracted by others a lot, and it caused me to neglect and take her way for granted. If going back was possible one of the few things I would do differently is to show her then how much she meant to me. We worked together on a summer mission team, and decided to take a break from being roommates the next semester. No doubt, the time apart was needed, but one semester would have been enough. While the feeling might not have been mutual I never stopped missing her as my roommate. However, her friendship taught me to never assume someone knows their importance in your life. She's a jewel with a heart of gold. But for sure we had some good times!