"the people and circumstances around me do not make me what i am, they reveal who i am." -laura schlessinger
the players.

actual family
ma: one of my best friends. jumps rings of fire for my sister and i. essentially, our life support system. love.
laqula: 16 year old sister. super math whiz. super athlete. super collar popping ugg boot wearing hollister/american eagle/abercrombie only wearing prep.
sweetheart and astro: laqula's yorkie terrier and the family's springer spaniel.
my father: hell as it walks among us on this earth. i don't really have much to say here other than the fact that i have a better relationship with our dogs.

the "family"
red, rob, and ben: the 'big brother's i never had, even though ben is a year younger. they were all at one time roommates, until red moved out. red is the 'cool' one. the troublemaker with a HUGE <3. ben is the little old man, sometimes worrying too much. rob- i just spend too much time with rob. people mistakingly think we are dating. we. are. not. dating.
c love (caitlin): the group baby and little sister. my little and angry friend.
liz: my best girl friend at school. for the most part, she's me if i was punkier and edgier... and polish. she wants butch walker's love child.
judah: "mom". red's awesome as hell girlfriend. serves an almost big sister like role. i respect her quite a bit.

pseudo
jason: rob's old roommate. had a descent sized crush on this kid during the first part of this school year. resembles harry potter (?!).
dee and nate: "the odd couple". dee is a party in a 5 feet package and self proclaimed punk rock princess. nate is just a sweetheart. the oldest friend of mine in the group. a BIG kid, and my 1st college crush.
meredith: the very atypical sorority girl. one of the most driven girls i know and a great listener. i <3 her.

roomies!
meghan and michelle: the 2 ladies who live in the other bedroom of my apartment. met michelle 2 years ago on an alternative spring break trip. there is a photo somewhere of me and her with 3 other girls dancing on a bar in nashville... meghan's and my friends overlap, and she used to date one of my good friends.
annie: my roommate. one of my closest friends. ethel to my lucy. bonded in the wake of dani's departure back to maryland. straight up gun toting hick. but i love her regardless. BIG troublemaker.

those boys
dave: annie's boyfriend. "good kid". quirky in a nice way. my new buddy. very all-american looking even though annie claims he looks like joaquin phoenix. my boyfriend's roommate (yeah- i know... annie and me, the 2 of them... i know...).
zack: my boyfriend. reckless as hell. might just be crazy, but at the same time delicately amazing. ridiculously cute boyish smile. one of the most thoughtfully sweet and beautiful boys i might ever know.

hs
amanda jean: my best girl friend from high school. bonded over both of us being dateless junior prom. we fight from time to time, but when it comes down to it, we know the other one is there to catch whatever fall may occur. my concert hoppin' buddy.
bec, kris, and the dudeks (carolyn and bethy): these kids went to grade school together and with the exception of the dudeks, still run in those exact same circles of friends. sweet sweet girls nonetheless who are always the exact same people i first met whenever i see them.

leftover
jakki: my closest friend at work. courtry girl whose buddy icon is 50 cent (?). funny as hell.
dani one of my best friends. fellow writer. trasnferred from behrend to school back in maryland. willed me annie to look after. wants to be referred to here as "the don" because of the eye she keeps on things in erie from states away.
matt my love: at times my strength. transferred to state college our junior year of school. one of the people who knows me the best.
dan: i call him one of my best girlfriends. bonded my freshman year of school when he let me have a 'pirates of the caribbean' movie poster. shares my love for jason mraz. the rest was history :).

the art-eests
jeff: behrend's own personal john mayer/jack johnson/eric clapton. one of the most musically talented kids i know. he's pretty cute too-
pat: fellow english major. amazing storyteller. almost impossible not to like. big goofball.
bross (liz b): outta the english majors, my closest friend. fellow poet and local erie-ite.