.277 | to Brooke White, from Lauren Lamb

Thank you, Brooke, for your enduring friendship. What started as the most improbable of friendships, working on Mandarin homework for a class I wasn't even taking, has now spanned almost 15 years. Thank you for your mind and your curiosity. You approach the world with a hunger to know more about so many things and your curiosity is infectious. I feel smarter after every time I talk to you and I always have more books or articles to read about your latest fascination after our conversations. You are a wealth of resources and as a person who also loves learning I appreciate the intellectual flavor you bring to the table. Thank you for your persistence. You teach me about not giving up and the full-hearted way you approach your passions and friendships makes me want to chase my passions with the same ferocity as you approach yours. This pandemic has been a year of self-reflection for me and the way that you are constantly trying to grow yourself was a roadmap that showed me how to get curious about improving my own habits. Thank you for your vulnerability and thank you for the space you hold for my vulnerability in our friendship. I am so grateful to know you, for our friendship and for all of the ups and downs we weathered together. Here's to what I hope is at least 75 more years of friendship! Thanks Brooke!