Honorable Mention - Riley

Riley, The (Organized) Free Spirit

"Living in the moment means letting go of the past and not waiting for the future. It means living your life consciously, aware that each moment you breathe is a gift."~Oprah Winfrey

26 Tidbits:

Design

Creativity

WALL.E

Dressing up for work

Shoe obsessions

Favorite Aunt/Babysitter

Healthy eater

Laughter

Curls

Edgar's

Non-chain restaurants

Exercise

Suits (not one that she would wear...)

Trying new things all the time

Never liking to say goodbye

Bobbi Brown Lip Gloss (for reasons known to Riley and other's that were there that night)
Rap music

17th Floor

Feel good movies

Engagment ring designer

Yelling "That's not possible!" to Indiana Jones.

Mob Wars on Facebook

Photography

Celeb gossip (me too, no worries.)

Road-trips to see friends

Beautiful writer

ELABORATION:

The quote at the top reminded me so much of Riley. Just the other day, she and I were talking about living in the present, and she was mentioning how there is no point in worrying so much and getting flustered over things that you have no control over. "Just be happy!" she said. I don't think she realizes what an inspiration that is to people. Because she doesn't just speak those type of things and make them idle words, but instead she lives this philosophy every day. You will be hard pressed to find Riley when she is not smiling. She is a naturally happy person, and she just makes you want to be around her. I mentioned laughter in things that identify her. This girl LOVES to laugh. And she has the kind of humor that is genuine and contagious. Riley has the coveted quality of being able to laugh at herself, which makes you like her all the more. She is not one to argue with you, but she is not a push-over in any sense either. She has a way of giving her opinion that makes you appreciate the fact that she said it, instead of making you feel like she is running you over.

CLASSIC STORY:

One of my favorite qualities about Riley is how candid she is, which brings me to one of my favorite stories involving her. It was a random weekend our senior year in college and we were at a cookout. We were all sitting around talking. I'm pretty sure that the boys outnumbered the girls like 6-3 or something. Somehow Riley started talking about different things that she had going on in her life. She was so open and honest about how she felt about different things and different topics. The guys looked flabbergasted. It was clear that they rarely found a girl who would give them a straight up honest answer about anything they asked. The cookout soon became an information session. When Riley left, the guys could not stop talking about her. They were absolutely enamored with her. So I thank Riley for being a visionary in communicating with the male persuasion, and simply speaking her mind.

I think that this story is simply a testament to the kind of genuine, heart-felt, candidly wonderful person that Riley is! I am blessed to be one of her friends and to get to spend time with her daily!