Clothespin people!!

My earliest memory of Chelsea was the first day I met her at Hillside Jr. High. We had a journalism class together and we sat next to eachother. We had a slightly strange teacher that made us write poems everyday about these clothespin people she made. Chelsea and I never understood what this teacher wanted our poems to be like and she never liked our poems until Chelsea wrote one totally sarcastic and making fun of the little people the teacher always displayed. We laughed so hard about her poem and Chelsea was so scared she would get in trouble if she turned it in. Instead the teacher loved it and thought Chelsea was serious. We laughed so hard about that poem. The teacher compiled a book of her favorite poems from the year and sure enough that silly poem of Chelsea's made the cover! She was so easy to build a friendship with and we remained friends from that class on. We had lots of inside jokes about her parents going on my parents honeymoon with them. And it was easy to smile when she was around. The thing I find most amazing about Chelsea is I bet most people didn't even think Chelsea and I were very good friends but she had a special way to make everyone around her feel like her friend, not just her friend, but her close friend. She was always inclusive and sweet to me. She had more maturity at an early age than most people did. She was classy and fun and had something special about her that made her stand out. She was ALWAYS herself and never changed depending on the group of friends she was with. I have, and will always respect her. She taught me a lot about friendship early in life and has now taught me about the value of life. Two lessons I will always remember... I think about her often!!
Jessica Morrow Gardner