The Ultimate Support

Tracklist:
Everything You Want - Vertical Horizon
Honestly - Cartel
Night Changes - One Direction
Moonshine - Bruno Mars
If You Could Only See - Tonic
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If you are in my circle of friends, you are very aware that I try my best every day to tell you/show you how much you mean to me. Whether it be, a text, video, a letter, email, package. Whatever it may be I try my hardest to make sure the people in my life know how much I love that they are there.

Now, that being said, I am going to be shining the spotlight down on someone in particular that has went above and beyond what I even believed friendship to be. You've already been introduced to her, and her name is Brittany.

The purpose of this post is to highlight ultimate support, so I hope you will allow me to brag a little bit about Brittany, because, for me, she provides my ultimate support.

Brittany and I have known one another for a little over two years now (July will be three). She was the first friend I had ever properly made over the internet, and man am I sure glad that meeting people on the internet is no longer frowned upon as much. I have told her on several occasions one of the best decisions I've ever made in life is deciding to send her my phone number in a Tumblr message while sat in the gravel parking lot at college. I will absolutely stand by this.

There is no way that I am going to be able to sit here and write about her and you are going to be able to fully understand the connection the two of us have. Simply, because I don't fully understand it myself. She is the REASON I make sure everyone in my life knows how much I love them, because that's what she does; I get it from her. I've gotten a lot from her. A more positive outlook on life, for one. Granted we both have our moments, but that is why we have each other.

We have each other. That's something I am so thankful. In her I have someone I can always call, text, send strange photos and videos to, someone that gets me completely. She has invested time into my life, which is something not a lot of people have done. You know you have someone special when they take time out of their day just to know about yours. This happens every day with her and I don't know how I've gotten so lucky.

I'm also very lucky to have a person in my life that I have so much in common with. We bonded over the constant: One Direction. However, we became friends for life over everything else. We know each other's families and friends. We've listened to stories about the past. We participate avidly in one another's hobbies and extra curricular activities. And the only reason you won't find us at each other's house every single weekend is the distance between us.

We are very lucky in that we are only three and a half hours apart. A lot of other people have it worse than that. I have to remind myself of this on a daily basis. I want so badly to just drive to her sometimes (mostly when I'm having a bad day). I know she will always make everything better and then some, it's just her personality. Instead I have to settle for a text or Skype call, and it just isn't the same sometimes. Nevertheless, though, I am thankful we are as close as we are.

Tracking back to support. What is life without people surrounding you with support? It isn't one I want to be part of, if I'm honest. Now, there are two stories I'm going to tell. These two stories will be at the end of our friendship highlight reel, I'm sure of it, highlighting what it means to support the people you love with absolutely everything you have. Brittany has her own sides to these stories, but I guarantee you at this point in the post she knows which two I'm going to tell, and she feels the exact same way.

Number one. Back in November of 2013, I made probably the most spontaneous decision of my life. A few months prior, in September, I was surprised by my Dad and Step-mom (and Brittany) with a trip to London (Brittany's class was going and I was given the opportunity to tag along with them). Everything was paid in full and I was set to go. Brittany was not in the same position as I was, yet she kept very quiet about it. So quiet that it worried me. When she broke the news to me that she may not be able to go because she couldn't make the final payment my heart plummeted and I immediately went into problem solving mode. I had saved up enough money to cover half of what she owed and still have enough to take with me, the other half I could take out of my savings. So that's exactly what I did. I called a friend and asked him to drive me down to her house. (Forever grateful to you Jake for taking me.) He requested to leave work early that day and I set out to the bank. I had been in contact with her mother on this day, making sure it was okay that I did come down there to give her the money. I didn't want anyone's feelings getting hurt. I just wanted to help. Once I got the go ahead from her mother I left a note on the table for my own mother, letting her know where I was going and that I would be back later on. (I didn't dare tell her that I was taking money out of my savings or that I had even driven by the bank- she would find out all of that when I got back later that night.) I remember standing in front of the teller and my hands shaking with adrenaline. I was in disbelief what I was even doing. I told the woman, a family friend, what I was doing and I can still remember the smile she had on her face. "Are you serious?" She said to me, and all I could do was smile and nod (I wanted to cry). "Wow, that's really great. You're such an incredible friend." I smiled again, this time saying something in return. "Yeah, but if you only knew her you would know why." She had handed me the envelope then and I left. I drove straight to Jake's house and we set off for Tennessee. He listened to me panic and rant for three and a half hours with the Pokemon theme song playing in the background (still unsure how he made it). Throughout this time, I had been trying my best to keep Brittany off my trail. I had even sent her a picture of my sister to make it look like I was over at my Dad's house. I was texting her mother the entire drive as well. She was making dinner for all of us and was wanting updates on our drive. It was dark when we arrived and I was so nervous ringing that doorbell. I don't know what was going through her mind, but the surprise on her face when she opened the door assured me I was doing the right thing. I'm not sure if she actually suspected anything or knew the purpose of my visit but the surprise factor was there nonetheless. We walked inside and I told her I had something to give her. I handed her the envelope. "It isn't fair that I get to go and you don't when it's your school that's going." That's all I remember saying to her, besides "Open it." when I handed her the envelope. I don't guess she believed me. I then met her mother and gave her the biggest hug before telling Brittany what we had been doing throughout the day. There were lots of tears. We all sat down and had a nice dinner and watched a bit of television before it was time for me to go back home. I got a lot of hell from my mother when I got back home, but all of that has been resolved.

Story two, it's shorter I promise. This one is all about Brittany. I told you she introduced me to 5 Seconds of Summer, and how grateful I am to her that she did that. Well back in November I was starting to get down about not being able to go and see them on their 2015 tour. Brittany and some of her friends had already planned on going to a show before I had even decided I liked them - I had missed the train. I want to see them, but had no one to go with. The worst part, for me, was that their closest concert to me (two hours away) was going to be the day before my birthday. It was a Friday night (yes, I still remember this), and the Night Changes video had just premiered (yes, I also remember this because it fits in well with how things happened). I was telling Brittany about the show, in Charlotte, that I so badly wanted to go to. After I was finished with my rant, I waited. I was hoping for some sort of, "Well you know they're going to be doing another tour. You will get to see them." Something supportive like that, something I would expect from her. What I got back though brought me to tears. "You know we can do that." That's all she said, and that's all she had to say. I broke down. And when I say 'broke down' I mean, BROKE DOWN. This was all I had wanted for months and with a simple text she had made it all possible. Something I thought was completely out of reach for at least another year, she had placed it right in front of me and said, "Yeah, let's do it." And then when I proceeded to ask her a week ago about what she would do if I bought us Raleigh tickets as well, she was completely ready for it. These things seem so small, I know. "She just agreed to go to a concert with you, Callie, how much support does that require?" To someone who hasn't received as much support as she probably needed, it means the world.

These two instances in my life are ones that I will never be able to forget. Why would I want to? I have been blessed to know such an incredible and SUPPORTIVE person, The key word is in capitals if you didn't catch it. It isn't about the money or the concerts - those are just the outcomes, it's about what had to happen in order for those things to be possible. I cannot stress enough how important it is to have support. It is what keeps you going, keeps you from lying in bed all day and trolling the internet (unless, somehow, that is your job and if it is can you call me?). If the people around you do not support you 110% in EVERYTHING that you do then why do you keep them around? It isn't about agreeing, it's about supporting. You may not agree with every decision a person makes in their life, however, if you consider them to be a friend you should have their back no matter what. Support.

My relationship with Brittany is stronger than ever these days and it is all because I am finally wising up to the fact that support is how you thrive. You can survive without it, yes, but what's the point? What are you accomplishing without support? Not much.

So surround yourself with people who want to be there. People who will show you on a regular basis how much they love you and how much they appreciate you. It will make a difference. Find your ultimate support.

Callie
xx