Lauren
Lauren is my wife, though not legally. We've been together for 8 years and had a wedding in October 2004. Lauren is everything I'm not and we balance each other very well. I don't think I could do justice to her or our relationship in this kind of forum, so I'll leave it at that.

Mom, Dad, Jake, and Josh
I think this is pretty self-explanatory. My family. Parents first. I'm very close to both of them and very much like both of them. I like to spend a lot of time with them, which is one of the things that makes living away from MN very difficult. Jake and Josh are my brothers, 22 and 17 years old respectively. They're a lot like our parents too. Both of them have amazing potential and have been through some tough times that have made (and still are making) them stronger. A therapist once (ok, many times) called our family codependent. We like it that way.

Carly
Carly is the newest person in my life. Because she's a few years younger than me, we didn't get to be very close until I moved back home after college. She understands a part of me that no one else does, and I feel like it's safe to let her see the ugliest parts of me. She's the only person I feel like I can really confide in, other than Lauren. She inspires me in so many ways, and she's going to do great things, no matter what route she takes in life.

Stuart and Mary
I've known Stuart for most of my life, although we didn't become friends until the summer after 8th grade. He's been a major part of my life ever since. The best thing about Stuart is that he's never made me feel like he wishes I was anyone other than exactly who I am. He and his wife, Mary, got married two weeks after us, and I like her a whole lot too. The four of us see a lot of each other.

Pam, Jodi, and Mary Beth
I met Mary Beth (aka Meg) in 6th grade. In 9th grade, we started hanging out with Pam, who also brought her friend Jodi into the mix, despite her not going to our school. These three girls were sort of my anchor in high school. The four of us were kind of inseparable, although we did manage to have a lot of drama between us. Since high school, I'm mainly in touch with Pam, although I still exchange emails with Jodi and manage to connect with Meg once in awhile. We will always be a foursome, in some odd way that none of us can put into words.

Sara
Sara and I have also been friends since 6th grade, though we didn't speak for most of high school. We went to camp and USY together and spent the entirety of 8th grade sleeping at each others' houses watching Pauly Shore movies. We only see each other once or twice a year, but somehow, it works for us. She reminds me that people can change and that silly things are not worth worrying about. She's traveled all over the world and I live vicariously through her.

Lizzie
Lizzie was one of my residents when I was an RA at Oberlin, although she only lived on my floor for two months. She sees the world in ways that the rest of us can't even imagine, and she's going to change the lives of everyone she meets. She's incredibly smart, incredibly sweet, and has one of the most beautiful souls I've ever seen. We disagree on a lot of things too, but it never seems to affect our relationship. Someone told us that he went to see the Chekov play the two of us were going to see that night and that it had been rewritten and was all abstract. At the exact same moment, Lizzie said, "Oh, I don't think I'll like it then" and I said, "oh good, maybe I'll like it better then." We both cracked up and Lizzie said, "Well, that sums up our relationship very well." It would figure that this year, when I'm back in Oberlin, Lizzie has moved to Minneapolis for one year between college and grad school.