Meet my best friend, TESSA CAMILLE SOUTER!!!! She turned the ripe age of 20 on Sunday.. poor girl spent the whole day traveling back from Florida. She was competing with the Cougarettes at the National Dance Championship and.... THEY WON!!!! They are now 8 time national champions!!!! How cool is that?! I could not be more proud of her because they worked SO hard to deserve this win. There were several days when she would come home from practice in tears because it was so hard. So proud of her!
Where do I begin with this one..... Tess and I have been best friends for 15 years....!!! I am convinced that we were friends much longer before that though:) Tess is everything and more I could've ever hoped and prayed for in a best friend. Aside from my MOm and sisters, Tessa has been the biggest influence on me in this life.
Tess looks like barbie. Literally, I hear that at least once a day! I say this often, but I truly have the most gorgeous friends. Any guy would be lucky to have them! You look at Tessa and you think she is going to be stuck up and pretty bratty. But if you spend one second with her, you quickly realize that she is the complete opposite. She is by far the most sincere, down-to-earth, self-LESS, giving, mature, smart, sweetest girl you will ever meet. Everyone who meets her falls in love with her instantly because her goodness and light of Christ shines so bright that people are naturally drawn to her. They love her because she is just such a good person. She care about people more than herself. She truly would drop anything for anyone and is willing to sacrifice so much for the people she loves. She's been at everyone of my choir concerts, recitals, plays and performances since we were kids! I know I can always count on her to be there on the front row, trying to get me to crack a smile :)
Tess and I always joke about this that we feel like there aren't enough hours in the day to talk about all the things we want to talk about. Really though, if the both of us have a free day, we spend the whole day talking about anything and everything you can think of. I love it! Don't take this the wrong way, but the kind of natural friendship that we have and the ability we have to talk about anything and everything is what I'm hoping my future husband and I have. The day I find a guy I can talk to like I talk to Tessa is the day I've found my match, because that is a very important quality I need in a guy! I trust Tessa with my life. I tell her things that I don't tell anyone else. Things that are so personal and private to me, I can tell her because I know that not only can I trust her with what I'm telling her, I know that she will value and respect what I'm telling her. I never have to worry that I'm "casting my pearals before the swine," with Tessa, because I know that she would never disrespect me or anyone for that matter. Tessa, I just want you to know that that is one of my top 3 favorite things about you. You have no idea what a blessing it is to have someone that I know I can always tell ANYTHING to. I can never thank you enough for always being there for me. Always, consistantly, anytime day or night you are always there. Thank you so much Tessa.
She was by my side as my testimony was blossoming and helped me get my testimony to the place where it's at today. She started dragging me to the Temple with her every single week starting when we were 15 and has helped my love of the Temple grow. The Temple is a staple in our friendship and the Temple has strengthened our friendship over the years because we both continue to go every single week. She has taught me that the more you sacrifice for the Lord, the more He will sacrifice for you. She is the greatest example of sacrificing for the Lord. She has taught me how to prioritize my life. She's taught me what is most important in life and to go after what I love the most. She's taught me how to balance my time and work hard for the things I want. She's taught me to only surround myself with uplifting music, tv, media, friends and people in general. She has taught me to choose the right always. She not only makes it easy for me to live the Gospel, she makes me WANT to live the Gospel to it's very fullest everyday! She was a huge part in me realizing that living the Gospel is the perfect way to happiness, the only way to happiness. She never lets me settle for anything less. If she feels that I'm lacking in any area of my life, she will call me out on it, tell me to buck up and work harder on improving that area of my life. She is my constant motivation to be the best person I can be. She is such a huge boost to my confidence. She openly compliments people so sincerely and her compliments stay with you forever and truly build your confidence. But when she compliments you, she never expects anything back in return. Have I mentioned that she is one of the most humble people i know? I always am learning from her natural humility.
I cannot tell you how hard Tessa makes me laugh! The hardest times I have ever laughed in my life have been with her! To name a few: last year while living in Raintree, Tessa, Tracy and myself were all getting ready for bed one night. We were all in the bathroom and looked something like this; tracy's hair halfway blow-dryed while she was wearing no makeup with her retainers in...I was wearing questionable PJ'S while I also had zero makeup on with a pore strip on my nose while I was flossing my teeth... and Tessa was also wearing little PJ'S also no makeup with retainers in while she was putting curlers in her hair! It was almost midnight when all the sudden we hear a knock on the door... we heard our roomate answer the door and we heard a guys voice asking for us.... we all paused for a second then Tess and I DOVE into the shower, while I am drooling/ choking cause I was brushing my teeth so I was drooling into the tub while Tessa starts ripping her curlers out and starts throwing them everywhere... Another one of my very favorites was one night earlier this year we had all just gotten ready for bed and were going to bed. I was the last one up which is odd cause normally I'm the first one asleep. Anyways I was in the bathroom then I walked through the apartment, locked the door, turned off the lights and went into my room. Lacey was gone that night so I was alone in my room so I turned on my lamp, turned off the light, closed the door behind me and walked to my bed. As I started to pull back the covers, I felt like I wasn't alone anymore.. then suddenly Tessa grabs my ankles and screams!! YOu know those old cartoon movies when the dog sneaks up on the cat and scares him and the cat flies up to the ceiling? That was me.... I've heard from Tess that my scream was literally the definition of bloody murder! I ran out the door and collapsed flat on the floor while I started crying/laughing cause I was SO scared while Tessa proceeded to PEE her pants from laughing so hard!!!..... I'm laughing out loud just thinking about it! I cannont begin to tell you how many stories, inside jokes, crazy moments and mischevious adventures we have accumilated over the last 15 years. I could write a book just on our funny moments alone! Those memories I have with her are my most prized possessions. One of my favorite things in the whole world is sitting on the couch with Tess after a long day and watching America's Funniest Home Videos and laughing til we pee our pants!! Gosh, my life is just too good to be true.
In all honesty I feel completely undeserving of having a best friend like Tessa. She motivates me and makes me want to be the best person I can be. There's not much more I can say about Tessa cause she already knows it. But just incase she's forgotten, I love you more than I could ever say Tess. You cease to amaze me. You are my rock, my partner in crime and the biggest blessing to me. I call a duplex with our families in Heaven:)
"In Heaven we were sisters... but God wouldn't do that to one mother."
I love you poodah boodah winkle:)
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!
XOXOXO
love Allie
