Number 4

This morning, Anne, Erin, Zach and I woke up early to make Jessica breakfast before a big, important interview.  It was so delightful to actually be with so many people I love.  On our way to school, Erin and I were talking about how us four roommates are basically never home all at the same time.  Erin said, "Anne has all her meetings, Jess has work and her boyfriend, I study all the time (and I added that she also has a boyfriend) and you have school and number 4."  

I just laughed, mostly because it is true.  Number 4 is what we call Ryan's apartment in our ward.  And I spend a lot of time there.  

In our ward, number 4 is kind of like Grand Central Station.  People are always walking in and out at random times.  It is the designated movie, sports, Psych, and Once Upon A Time watching apartment (yes, we have a Psych and Once Upon A Time obsession).  At this moment, I can only think of one time I've been in their apartment when someone random didn't come in, at least for a minute.  Why?  Cause these guys are awesome!  (Note:  They've had more roommates, but these are the core ones.)

Eric is one of the first people I met in Provo that I liked.  See, being a freshman in a much older ward has its disadvantages.  One of them being that when you first meet the people in the ward and you tell them you are 18 (after they ask, of course...I never volunteered the information) there is very little variation in their reactions.  Surprise is always there, which is fine.  I can handle surprise.  It's the patronizing "oh well isn't that cool" from the girls and the I-have-to-get-out-of-here-as-fast-as-I-can-so-you-don't-attack-me look from the boys (apparently "freshman" and "boy-crazy" are synonyms), both followed by the other person not so tactfully looking for someone else to talk to that is hard to swallow.  It wasn't that way with Eric though.  He didn't even bat an eye when I said I was an 18 year old freshman.  He just continued to ask me questions about my life like he really wanted to know.  He will never know how much that meant to me.  The most amazing thing?  He is completely genuine.  When he talks to you, it is because he sincerely wants to.  He always focuses his attention on the conversation he is having and acts like who he is talking to is the only important person in the room.  

Someday, I want to be as good of a listener as he is.  Eric is also super hard working, seriously the kid is always doing homework or at work. He's super good at the guitar and he makes some of the best cookies you will ever eat!

Wes.  What can I say?  He's crazy.  Even though we were in the same ward all last year, I didn't really get to know Wes until this summer/fall.  I must admit, at first I just thought he was a huge goof.  Which is partially true.  But underneath all that goof is a super smart and hard working kid.  School seems to be so easy for him.  It probably isn't, but he would never let you know that.  He always seems to be in a good mood and joking around.  My favorite thing is when he'll say something completely untrue to a group of people who don't know him very well and they believe him 100% because they can't tell when he is being serious and when he is joking.  Granted, it is hard sometimes.  Most of the time I just assume he's joking.  This lucky kid also happens to have been my home teacher this year (along with Ryan).  Can't say I have ever enjoyed home teaching quite so much.  Or laughed quite so hard.  I feel like I learn new things about him every day, like the fact that he is a pretty good piano player and also bought a trumpet last year so he could brush up on his trumpet skills that have been lying dormant since about eighth grade.

He's a nutrition major (again, like Ryan) and gives me a hard time often about the fact that I don't eat enough meat.  He keeps trying to convince me that all of it is just so good.  He's also tried many times to convince me that mustaches are cool/attractive/a good idea.  Needless to say it hasn't worked.  But it's a good effort.

Ryan is the other roommate.  I could repeat everything I've already said, but I'll just say that I might have met Eric first, but Ryan is my best friend of this apartment.

One of my all-time favorites of them:  Ryan, Wes, and Eric