lauren love

my dedication to lauren love: 

i met lauren love in europe the summer of 2004. we were both asu students wanting to experience the world. we made an immediate connection given that our names were the same and we shared the same birthday. we teased that we were kindred spirits. it was just a few days into the trip that we discovered each other's "alter egos." it was pure shenanigans after that. 

"ladies man" meets "helen." 

i think what was so attractive about lauren love was her spirit. everybody in the program naturally gravatated to her. she was so likable. and she was so real. 

venice - july 4th. 

i think of europe often. we were just kids. we danced to ridiculous music in germany and we ate gelato everyday in italy. i refer back to these experiences and often brag to people how amazing the entire trip was. but, i most frequently recall the relationships i established. becoming best friends with 30 different people in one summer was certainly life-changing; we watched each other grow through our experiences.

bumping into each other after our return to the states would gently warm me with memories of our time together. we shared something truly remarkable in europe that summer. 

and lauren was a part of it. she changed our lives forever. 

and for that, we're all eternally grateful. 

i bumped into lauren at a party about a year after our tirade through europe.  i had heard through the grapevine she was battling some health problems, but she brushed it off, insisted she was just fine. she gave me a huge hug before we parted ways.   

i fear nothing i could say would fully encompass 

the person lauren love was.

she was beautiful. genuine. and true.

we're with you, love. forever.