Jen Zwilling, Duke

I first met Lindsay when I was a sophomore in high school. She and Amanda made a last minute decision to fly to New York for the weekend. From her first time at our house she fit in perfectly, and after she found Howie drinking champagne and begging her to taste caviar on a Sunday afternoon, I think she became determined to become part of the family (and included in the nightly emails from our mom). In typical LAR fashion, she succeeded.

I was so excited when I finally got to Duke to introduce all of my friends to Amanda’s friends, especially Linds. “The really tall one” as they referred to her for the first week or two definitely earned me some extra cool points. All of my friends literally idolized her, which Lindsay always thought was kind of funny. Lindsay immediately welcomed my friends and I into her Duke world and as she had even before we really knew each other when I visited Duke in High School was always the first to step in to fill any sisterly role that Amanda wasn’t around for. Lindsay though would always remind me that “this ride/invitation/present/shirt I’m letting you borrow is not from me, its from my friend… who is a boy… because if it was from me, that would be dirty rushing.” One night in particular though, Lindsay went above and beyond fulfilling the “older sister” role. That night, she found some older boys to introduce my roommate and me to.

Lindsay: This is my friend Jen and this is her roommate Kathleen. She watches battle star galactica. You guys should talk. Bye.

Last year when Lindsay stayed in Durham after she graduated, I insisted that we take vegan Durham by storm. The hummus sandwich at mad hatters became a definite staple and then, Twisted Noodles was discovered. Lucky for me, Lindsay moved to a new apartment complex right off of 15-501 conveniently as I was moving into my dorm at UNC. Our adventures soon expanded further than just vegan meals, there were craft store visits, and I did succeed in convincing Lindsay that she was not too cool to hang out in both UNC and Duke dorms even though she had graduated.

Linds- thanks for the cool points, thanks for the adventures, and thanks for somehow still making me smile as I write this.