Dear Claire

I don't know that I can type an intro that is worthy of the love behind my friend Claire. The way she loves her idol is magic, but the way she loves the world around her makes me want to be a better person every day.

To me Claire is defined by her heart, the way she loves her friends, her sense of humor, her wit, her brilliant advice, her passion, good twitter packs, being from Nebraska and exploring the world around her with an open mind.

I haven't written a letter to anyone individually in a long time, but as usual, I watch the recipient of the letter more closely than usual, sentimentally aware of how much they've grown since I met them. 

And I haven't known Claire for an insanely high amount of time, but I've known her long enough to know that she's one of those people that only come around ocassionally. She's one of those people that I just admire and look up to so much. She's one of the people who I can talk about and my mom will know who she is just because I mention her so often. Like "I'm gonna go talk to Claire or Rafa or Mia or someone" and she'll reply "Oh, good! Have fun with your sisters."

Sister, that she is. Someone you really want to be around.

Thanks, internet.

Anyhoo, today I'm going to celebrate Claire through this blog post, and it makes me happy.
You know what else makes me happy? My timeline, my DMs, flooding with friends whose names are said many times in her tweets, because she has a deep recognition and appreciation for them. She knows our names and where we're from and what our favorite colors are and who can't eat peanut butter and whose birthday is next.

So I think it's time to rein in the introduction and get to what the title entails.

With no further ado...

****

Dear Claire,

I want to be this friend. The kind of friend that knows how to instantaneously put a smile on someone's face just with simple words. The kind of friend who is selfless, kind, loyal, dedicated, beautiful inside and out. I want to be like you, because that is the kind of friend you are.

And even though I may not be able to do justice to that fact with words, and in the end all of this might just be letters on a page, I'm going to try.

You help me when I'm vulnerable, you give out random compliments like you have some kind of radar that senses when I need one, you remember little details, you really listen, and you really care.

And when I talk to you I just feel like laying on the floor and throwing glitter up into the air while singing the chorus to Sweeter Than Fiction. Or eating skittles and swimming around in hot chocolate, and I feel like half my age.

We started DMing again after days and our forces have finally reunited to bring more moments like this to a floor near you. And half of your age plus half of my age equals something around one whole of us, so the mature moments are bound to happen eventually. The truth of the matter is my back went out this weekend--like I bent down to get something at the exact moment something snapped in my back and I screeched and collapsed and just laid there in some chalk-drawing crime scene position in the kitchen, laughing hysterically because I seriously couldn't move and you had just said something really funny and lying under the stove while people walk around you, pouring coffee and washing dishes completely oblivious to the scene is really, really funny..

So the laying on the floor, singing STF thing serves a purpose really.

Anyways...

I love you. What a beautiful person you are. A cute, funny thing who seeps joy and life and spirit into your little Claire aura. The aura that happens to grow a bit more to me each day. And while all the beauty you hold inside unfolds more each time we talk, I am finding that much like my admiration of you, that beauty is infinite. You don't realize that you're perfect, because you have the ability to be humble, and maybe a little blind to all the wonderful things about you, but you are stunning and amazing. You really really are. Your heart and soul are so genuine.

One of my favorite things about you is your independance and this perfectly balanced brew of confidence and uncertainty.

And the fact that I am in a big old heap of emotions right now, and I'm trying to hold it together as we DM about our crushes, because writing about you, describing you, knowing you is heaven. I just want you to know that if you're ever even remotely not happy, you can talk to me. The pain of seeing you hurt or fail or be sad will crush me because you only deserve to be happy, especially because you have reaped invaluable happiness to so many others.

And all the years I've dreamed of having a friend who I really truly look up to and love, I never would have guessed that it would amount to this here.

You have taught me so many things already.

You've most importantly taught me that loving your character this much has meant living up to everything about you that I wish I was.

I love your sweetness and your attitudes and your style and your instagram pictures and your account and your jokes and your hair and your fangirling.

And I love...you. But you already knew that, right?

Love, Naomi