There might be an END in FriENDships but...

When people do great things, they are often asked, "What does it feel like?" I'm sure after scoring 100 points on the New York Knicks, Wilt Chamberlain was asked that question. In 1969, Neil Armstrong stepped foot on the earth's moon, and I am positive he was asked the question. Now that I have graduated college, I've been asked that very question time and time again. Personally, I think dropping 100 points in an NBA game and being the first person to be on the moon are way more impressive than graduating from college. If you think about it, only one person has ever scored that many points in any level of compeitition of basketball, and only a handful of people can say they have been on the moon. Thousands and thousands of people graduated from college this year alone. So should I feel so accomplished from graduating from Ozark Christian College? I think so, but it is not because of a piece of paper with my name on it that i received from OCC for completing a four year degree. It is becaue of the many relationships I was able to build while being at Ozark that I can honestly answer the question, "What does it feel like?" with a resounding, "GREAT!"

Now I am no Wilt "the Stilt" Chamberlain or Neil Armstrong, but those guys could not have had better friends than the people who I have called family for the past four years at Ozark. There are way too many brothers and sisters that made an impact in my life to bring up in this post, but if I don't mention you its not because I don't love you...it is because you probably never bought me lunch or let me borrow your umbrella when it was raining.

Connor.


Connor, how do I even begin to describe our friendship? Our freshmen year, I just knew you as the kid that had a collapsed lung. I think everyone on our floor visited you in the hospital except for me and David. As time went though, we started to hang out, and I soon realized that you were probably one of the funniest people I had ever met. As our freshmen year came to a close, we started the infamous band, Worthy Prisoners. Six words to describe the worthy Prisoners...Too Much rock for One hand. I loved just sitting in our dorm room writing songs about Jonah or the Book of Acts. I know my junior year, we were not as close but I think we made up for it our senior year. I had such a blast with you my last year at Ozark. Whenever I needed to laugh or just feel better because I was in a horrible mood, you were there to crack a joke and make me smile. But our whole friendship wasn't based on laughter, we could have our serious conversations too about life and I really appreciated that. Connor, You are going to do great things whenever you graduate Ozark. If it is in Russia, I know you'll find a russian lady who just wants to use you for an easier access to American citizenship. Just Kidding! I love you man, and i will always cherish our friendship and I hope it continues for many more years.

Caitlyn.


Oh Caitlyn. Our friendship began in the food court of the mall in Joplin in an awkward way and awkwardness has not departed from a friendship ever since. I have to say that are one great baker. Your cookies were delicious, but you never had to bake us any goodies for us to love you (just in case you thought that was the case). I am sorry we didn't get to hang out as much our senior year, but the times we did hang out, I had a blast. I loved playing cards with you and always having awkward moments. I think my favorite memory with you was our trip down to Albuquerque. Going to the balloon fiesta was one thing I will never forget. You are a great friend Caitlyn, and I sure hope we get to cross paths again someday. And you are going to have so much fun this summer at Camp...you better let me know how it goes!

Blake.


This picture basically sums up our relationship Blake. I can only guess the background to this picture. I probably antagonized you somehow (all I am going to say is...Space Jam), and I tried running away but first you grabbed me and put me in the cradle. One of my first memories of you was when we were walking up the hill from a one of our first meals on campus during orientation, and I remember thinking to myself, "Man, that guy has some weird eyes." Blake, you are a great guy who I look up to spiritually. YOu are going to be an EXCELLENT youth minister, and wherever you end up going, I hope those kids understand how lucky they are to have you as their youth minister. I also want to thank you for putting up with my laziness when it came to working out. I know I ended up leaving you hanging with running in the morning, but you were always there to encourage and push me farther. As our college career came to an end, I felt like I was in your room everyday discussing the future and asking for your wisdom and guidance. Those talks we had were amazing, and we better connect later in life. And don't forget...The Landis Park Church will be the next mega-church.

Kinsey.


Oh Kinsey. I know that we have not been friends as long as the people I have already talked about, but our friendship is just as important to me. People have said that we are the exact same person, just different gender, and i think I would agree with them. We have so much in common that it is a little scary! I had such a great time getting to know you these past couple of years. Whether it was playing cards, playing paper football, or just sitting down and talking in the student center, there was never a dull moment. You have such a great heart and it was awesome getting to see how much you care about people (especially your Asian babies!). I just want you to know that you are going to awesome in Maryland. You are a beautiful woman who I know God will use in great ways if you just have confidence in yourself and in Him. You will always have a friend in me and if you ever need to talk, I'm here for you. I love you kinsey!

David.


Dear Best Friend, I cannot top what you wrote about in your last blog about our friendship. We have done everything together since 7th grade, and now that is all going to change. As I was sitting in my seat during graduation, I finally came to the realization that you were not going to be with me next year. I do not know if I have ever told you this, but you are the reason I went to Ozark. If you had not gone to OCC four years ago, I probably would have wasted my life at Kansas University playing for their football team. I have never met someone with such great discipline in their walk with Christ. I have learned so much from you by living next to you for four years. I honestly have no idea how I am going to be able to make it this next year in Indiana without you. You let me know when I am being stupid and when I need to lighten up. We have so many inside jokes, and now no one is going to laugh at my stupid jokes. But I like what you said in your blog..."For the average person, his best friend in middle school isn't much more than a casual acquaintance by the time they're in high school. His best friend in high school only gets an occasional facebook message when they're in college. And his best friend from college is nearly forgotten by the time they're 35. I hope to be the exception to that. I understand that people come and go and relationships change. But I have little desire to have another best friend. I'm pretty happy with the one I've got." I cannot put it any better than that my friend, so I'm just going to say, "ditto." I love you bro and I thank God for blessing me with your friendship.


Once again, there are so many more people that made an influence in my life. I'm so thankful for my experience at Ozark, and I sure hope that I will be able to continue the many friendships I made while at that school. While last Saturday might have been the end of my college career, I sure hope that it wasn't the end of the many friendships I created. I love you guys.