[Jade]

Gord,

I don't even know what to say. I would have sent you a letter back but I lost the envelope, and I was too scared to respond after so long. Months have gone by since you gave me that amazing graduation present, thank you so much for gifting it to me. I freaked out with my mom and dad and the book is so, so interesting.

But Gord, I knew I had to say something today. I put a message for my first day of every grade in highschool. But now? Highschool is over. And it's my first day of college. And guess what?

I'm a CREATIVE WRITING MAJOR!

Life has been a little hectic recently. I fell in love with a girl (?) boy (?) (idk, she's trans) that lived all the way in Sri Lanka... was gonna marry her... booked a flight to Thailand to live with her... my parents knocked some sense into me to not throw away my full ride! Oh and that whole relationship exploded. Kids! I started my own business, just for self-publishing... hasn't really gone anywhere yet, but I'm incredibly excited. 

I'm at Hampton now. Everything paid for. It is SO. FREAKING. BEAUTIFUL. The ocean, the free food, I absolutely love living in a dorm, I'm having so much fun with my independence. Everything is AWESOME! And I've missed you. A lot.

Idk. This keeps happening. I don't comment for like a week and then I just don't comment for week after week after week. You're probably my longest friend. Oh yeah, my friendship with my best friend Ruby* (I think that's the fake name I use with her on here) and Reese* completely exploded too. Life drama. 

Just... thank you. For everything. For the graduation present. For being my friend for so long. Cheers to everything, everyone... and this is probably the 8th time I've said I'm sorry I'm not active on here.

 

Jade

Hello, JADE!

You can't possibly know how much I worried about you at first, then decided you had outgrown me, wished you all the best, and moved on! How absolutely excellent to hear from you, know you're safe and sound in college, and  A CREATIVE WRITING MAJOR! The lead-up sounds a little precarious, but you ended up in the right place! You usually do!

All is well with the Kormans. This year we visited our youngest, Leo, who was doing a semester in Florence, and we were all over Europe.Then we headed for Greece to the wedding of the daughter of one of my old college friends. BIG reunion with guys I knew from my own college days. It's been hectic!

A free ride. Freedom to be happy, and to make new life drama! You are most entirely welcome for the grad present. I wish you SO much love and luck at Hampton. Free ride! The mind boggles!

                                                     Much affection,

                                                                             Gord

[Jade]

I'm sorry to make you worry! I haven't outgrown you, I don't think so. Yes, it was a precarious lead up. I kind of only hvae four classes, so I'm kind of a full time writer with a couple classes in-between. I haven't made any friends yet. There's already been drama. I might not make any friends for a while, and that's fine too. 

I'm wondering about what to write. I want to get a lot better at my craft, since I have so much time to. 

The Jade I know will make some friends -- among the other writers, probably. Enjoy the campus and the freedom and being a genuine adult. That's the original feeling I got from my first few weeks at NYU.

Write every day -- stories, a diary, anything that keeps you using language to express your feelings. You know all that, I'm sure. I'm just so proud! I know someday Im going to be able to say "I knew her when she was just starting high school!"      --G--