My Story/high-school

My Story - Alexis Olson

Alexis Olson - Student Leader
Breckenridge High School

My story is like Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ice Cream. First taste: you say man that’s good. But you know you can’t stop there, so you take a second taste. Except this time you hit a piece of cookie dough. You know you have hit a sweet spot. After digging a little deeper you’ll find the chocolate chip. It is then that you have found the sweetest thing you may ever taste.

Well that’s like my story. Two Pay It Forward Tours, and two lives forever changed.

First Taste: To start I want you to ask yourself how you would define a friend? Google it if you have to. Now think about your life and how many “friends” do you think you have? Is it 2,000 since that’s the number you have on facebook? Or is it the number of people you hang out with each weekend?

While you are pondering that ask your self this: How would you define an acquaintance? To me that seems to be a much better term for those we call our “friends”. Granted the two are very similar, they have a few very big differences.

A friend is so, so much more than someone we just talk to and spend time with...

”Friendship isn't a big thing - it's a million little things.” ~Author Unknown

Your acquaintances may know what you stand for, maybe you can turn to them in any crisis, and they will always be there to listen. But most of these acquaintances won’t be able to tell someone else why you stand for what you do, most won’t be able to comfort you without a single word, and most won’t be able to do much more than listen to you, but those who do, now they are your true friends.

It was this that I realized on my first Pay It Forward Tour. When I stepped of the bus I understood perfectly that these acquaintances had become my friends in just five days, and tears streamed down my cheeks as we realized that we had to say goodbye. But from then on whenever I was to see or hear of a pirate or a pirate ship I thought of my dear friends that made my first tour so life changing. Yet it was one friend, one song, and one bond that would continue to change my life. His name was Cory, the song: Wild at Heart by Gloriana, and the bond between us is our story.

Second Taste: Not 2 months after my first Tour the responsibility of organizing our fall Tour fell into my hands. A task I took joyously. We planned to combine buses with another school because there is nothing better than a mixed bus. (Love ya JT!) The student leader from Perham School was Cory. This would be his 3rd Tour, my second, and we recruited people from our schools contacting each other every now and then to see how things were going. And on occasion I would hear Wild at Heart and text him telling him how excited I was for the Tour soon approaching. He often did the same.

Soon all we had was time until our Tour would depart for Kansas City, MO. I had loaded my things on the bus just to look out the window and see him. It had been 4 months since I had seen my good friend and my heart raced so quickly as I ran out to meet him. A hug never felt so good. To be embraced by someone you share something with is such a wonderful feeling.

Then our journey began. Jessica, Cory, and I had claimed the back 3 seats. We were inseparable. We had Pay It Forward in common. For the first day we talked about memoriesfrom our first Tour and all the people we met. We remembered dancing in the rain in the church parking lot in Wisconsin. All the while Cory’s laptop sat on my lap with his I-tunes playing. He has great taste in music. These are the little things. Listening to music together. Eating at the Golden Coral with Mr. President. Cory and Jess watching out for me when I hadn’t eaten in awhile and felt weak. Playing cards with a bowl of popcorn in our laps on celebration night. Setting the alarm at the Boy’s and Girl’s Club off because I ran out the wrong door when we were having a towel fight. I could go on and on. But this time when we said goodbye, there were no tears, because I would see him again. There was no doubt in my mind. He had become one of my best friends.

Third Taste: Now that Pay It Forward had opened the door to our newly found friendship we were able to grow closer. We began speaking on the phone each night getting to know each other more and more. We would talk about everything. It seemed though I had never met his family or friends I knew them all. Soon enough we decided to go on a date. He met my family and after eating supper we went to the movie 2012. I realized that night it is through experiences that you grow together, struggling to find yourself in a mess of expectations, needs, and desires. Having someone beside you through such times can make such a difference.

In the months that have passed since Pay It Forward my life has been like a roller coaster. One moment everything is going so well in a matter of seconds everything can turn upside down. I can honestly say that without Cory there for me I may not be doing as well as I am now. He and I are dating. Yet he is still my best friend.

Pay It Forward made me vulnerable. You connect by sharing your story, and he heard mine. At the time I didn’t know a friendship was blooming, yet now I have someone who I have no secrets with. Someone I can share my dreams with, and the beauty of our friendship is that I can be the same for him. That’s what true friends are. They are perfect reciprocals to each other. And given so much thanks to the people I met, my college leaders,and Cody Nelson, Cory and I will always have this bond that will hold us together forever.

This bond is so hard to describe but next time you eat chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream think about this story. Think about the friends you have, then think about the friends you may find in the future, and always remember that you may never know which friend will reach for your hand and end up touching your heart. My life has been forever changed by him, he has touched my heart in so many ways I can’t help but smile. Always be thankful for the friendships you have, and never take them for granted.

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