Gratitude for a Chapter Coming to a Close
There are so many good reasons to give gratitude often, even for the negative things. Normally, I wouldn't get so sentimental in a post, but this week, I have felt particularly grateful for the friends I've made and opportunities I've had during my time in college. I am about a week away from graduation, and am finding myself doing a lot of reflection on myself and my four years in St. Louis, especially when it comes to cars. As women, having a passion for cars can make it difficult to make good friends within our hobby. So naturally, as a new student, in a new school, in a new city, I was terrified to begin with, and assumed car friends would be out of the question. But in my second semester, I found a nearby track and decided to go check it out on one of their open track nights. It felt weird to be going alone to this sort of thing, but I was curious. Ladies, let me tell you what. Going to places alone can be some of the most rewarding experiences ever. That night I met James, who saw me as a lost puppy that just wanted to do car things. He pretty much took me in. He introduced me to his group of friends (who were also really great and inclusive) and the St. Louis car scene. With James and his friends I went to car shows, races, open track nights, and we even worked on each other's cars. Soon I had my own little group of car friends, and we were hanging out every weekend in Matt's garage. Every event we went to, James seemed to know everyone there. I was always meeting new people with different cars and tastes.
By my junior year of college, we had all become so busy with other things we didn't talk much aside from the occasional car spotting snapchat. We were also all in relationships by then, which as anyone knows, effects friendships in all kinds of ways. Some weekends I'd go meet up with Matt and Mj at the South County meet, but most of the time we were all just busy. Honestly, I missed hanging out all the time with the whole crew. I missed my car friends.
This year, my senior year, after four years of knowing these wonderful people, when I realized I only had a month left in St. Louis, I got all the feels. I realized that soon I would be moving back to Colorado and while I may come visit occasionally, there is a good chance I may never see some of these friends again. Putting aside the year of sparse communication, I reached out to my little group of OG car friends and asked for a reunion. I was surprised at the willingness and eagerness to meet with me for a final hoorah and say goodbye. James, Matt, Mj, Drew and I arranged our last cruise together. The whole night felt like old times. We met up at Matt's garage, cruised to the South County meet, talked, hung out, laughed, and ended up back at Matt's garage making fun of all the dumb things Mj had gotten tickets for, like window tint. It was the perfect memory for me to leave with.
So here's to some of my most special friends. Thank you for letting me join your group, showing me around St. Louis, teaching me so much, and adding some incredible memories to my college experience. I owe you guys a lot, and the car world could use more people like you. But Matt, I'm still not sure you know what it means to keep a car stock.
