If I could clone Karen

Okay, so in continuation of my tribute to my girlfriends in honor of our trip this weekend, I wanted to highlight Karen.

If I could clone Karen and give her to everyone in need of a girlfriend I would because you couldn’t find a better one. She is the most loyal person I’ve ever met – she will take your side even if she thinks you’re wrong (she’ll also be sure to tell you that you were wrong later, but she has the decency to do it when you’re no longer in public). She has a sarcastic wit that will make your lips curve even on the worst of days, and she is dedicated to fun more than anyone I know. If there was a bar crawl that had 100+ people involved in college, you could guarantee she was a part of the planning process.

And as if that wasn’t enough, she has an enormous heart. She wants everyone to have an equal chance. She wants everyone to be able to live a good life, from here to the far corners of the world. Sometimes my heart breaks for her because it’s not an easy world when you want that for so many. But she doesn’t just talk about it either, which I find myself guilty of sometimes – she does something about it. She’s planning her career around it. I’m so proud of her.

And she’s got this way of knowing just what her friends need when they need it.

When I was moving to Colorado and leaving all of my friends behind (they were such good friends I had to return shortly after) she gave me her favorite pair of sweatpants that she would come downstairs wearing on our “I’m hungover and need nothing more than to watch a movie and eat fried food” days. Karen and I studied abroad at separate times, and I know she knew to give me these because of that experience. A couple of years before this, I found myself in Ireland, 10 days in to a 5-month stint, away from friends and family and loved ones and though it was an amazing experience, I had a horrible bout of homesickness all of a sudden. I called my mom crying and said, “Mom, can you please send me my Iowa sweatshirt? I need it.” It was silly. It was a sweatshirt, but that sweatshirt was home. Karen knew those sweatpants were home to me. They were a symbol of the best days I had with my girlfriends. I packed them up and smiled.

And I wore them often.

I wear them still. I’m packing them for this trip as a matter of fact.

K-HO, I love you so. Thank you for entering my life.

Can’t wait to see you.