My Favorite People, Day 1: Brooke Parker

This week's theme is pretty self-explanatory. I am going to write about some of the people I love most in the world. Obviously, since the theme lasts only a week, I will be leaving some people out. The fact is, I love a lot of people, much more than seven (-ish). I hope those who don't get featured won't take this as an opportunity to be offended. I still love you a lot. Or maybe you need to up your efforts to get on my good side, hmmmmmmm?

Anyway, let's dive into our first subject, shall we?

This is Brooke Marie Parker.

She is beautiful, but that is not why I love her.

Brooke was in my ward, the one I really really liked, when I lived in the yellow house in South Provo. Although she lived across the street from me, we didn't know each other very well into she and I ended up in the same screenwriting class Winter semester. The class was small (only fifteen people), and went fairly late into the evening, so since we were neighbors and didn't want to walk hom in the snow alone, we started walking home together. I remember feeling nervous that Brooke, who was 19 at the time, was going to think I was too old and too square to be cool. Luckily, we eventually overcame that seemingly insurmountable barrier of five years.

Isn't it silly the kind of things that seem to matter much more in Provo than anywhere else, like age? Provo is so weird.

Anyway, Brooke is basically me at whatever age she happens to be (currently 20) only cuter, smarter, more confident, less self-destructive and much more level-headed. She is the me I wish I had been, and she will most certainly grow into someone I will wish I could be. She is incredibly talented, perceptive, and fun. She is a wonderful listener and one of the least judgmental people I know. Most importantly, she allows me to (s)mother her even though she doesn't need it, and even though I usually learn more from our conversations than I am able to teach.

Brooke helped me look for Sego when he was lost for an entire evening last summer. She accompanied me on stargazing trips when I took that astronomy class that I hated. We rode bikes to our community garden, went for long walks, ate delicious food, and watched movies together even after the homework for our screenwriting class was over.

Someday, I hope to produce a child as amazing as this girl.

She is seriously the coolest.