Amanda Zwilling, Duke

"As I’m sure the rest of you can agree with, it’s surprisingly difficult to pinpoint specific memories with a best friend. And, it’s even more impossible to eloquently rehash these times. I was lucky enough to meet Lindsay during the first week of freshman year, and even more fortunate to seamlessly form a genuine friendship so early in college and have a real friend to navigate first semester of freshman year with. One of my earliest salient memories with Lindsay,

though, came at the beginning of 2^nd semester after sorority rush didn’t end exactly as we’d planned. Lindsay called me and asked me to come pick her up from the bus stop, and we sat in my car at the edge of campus discussing what to do. Growing up, I was never a spontaneous person. So, when my parents suggested that Lindsay and I drive from campus to the airport and fly home to New York, it was only with Lindsay’s urging and enthusiasm that I agreed to go. Lindsay’s ability to live in the moment and seize opportunities is something that I learned to at least attempt to emulate early on, and something that will certainly stick with me. Lindsay always wanted to pack a bag, drive to the airport, and take the next flight (in the winter, the caveat was “to a hot location”), and I am absolutely determined to do this one day soon. I also plan to go here: http://www.giraffemanor.com/, because I promised Linds I would, even though giraffes peeking in through the windows scares me.

Another lesson that I learned from Lindsay is the cost-benefit ratio of sleep versus brunch. By the middle of sophomore year, we had it down to a science: Sleep until 1:25 PM. Fail at convincing Emily to get out of bed. Run up the tree lined hill from Edens to the Alumni Lot. Arrive at Fosters in time to place our orders at 1:58 PM, before brunch orders end at 2 PM. And, though we were all spiteful that Emily stayed in bed, Lindsay would bring back a bearclaw for her everytime without fail. Lindsay’s thoughtfulness and generosity was boundless.

I could literally go on for pages about the ways that I’ve grown as a result of my friendship with Lindsay, and the countless lessons that I’ve learned from her. One of the most important, though, is to wear gym clothes at all times possible, specifically mesh shorts and an American Apparel tshirt. The logic was that if we were in gym clothes, people would think we were going to the gym, and consequently think we were skinny. Did it work?"