7.07.2010

Guest Blogger. Melissa Priode.

In August of 2003 I went on staff with Young Life at a little high school named Carter, in Strawberry Plains, Tennessee. 3 or 4 days a week I would make the 20 minute drive down Asheville Highway to stand in the lobby and meet kids as they were heading into lunch. Everyday this girl would stand at the stairs and wait for her friend to meet her then they would prance on into the cafeteria. She was cute as a button, always dressed to a T, a cheerleader, and someone I wanted to be friends with. The girl at the stairs and I eventually met and hit it off instantly and a month or so after meeting she asked me to be an assistant swim coach for her high school team. Young Life eventually started meeting at her house. She went to Windy Gap. She started bringing her friends to Young Life. She became a Young Life leader. And more than anything she became one of my great friends. She is so much fun to be around and is one of those people that after 5 minutes you feel like you have known her your whole life,  has an infectious smile, is always up for adventure (she even lived in Australia for a while!), loves Long's Drugstore and lists (read on and you will see), and will be my friend for life. I thank God that Melissa would wait at those stairs everyday for Meghan because God ended up using her to grow Young Life at her high school and now so many have come to know Jesus through YL at Carter. 

If I had a show on DIY or the Food Network, it would probably be called the List Queen (mainly because the Ace of Cakes and Barefoot Contessa were already taken). Simply put, I love to make lists. I constantly scribble bits of info or reminders down on scraps of paper and tuck them into my wallet or pocket. In honor of my sometimes paper-wasteful habit, I am going to make lists of things that will help you get to know me!

(in no particular order)
Top 5 Favorite Desserts

1. Banana pudding
2. Lemon cookies/bars
3. Strawberry shortcake
4. my Granny's pumpkin chocolate chip bread
5. my Grandma's chocolate cake with cream cheese icing

Top 5 Favorite Songs to Fall Asleep To
1. If It's The Beaches, the Avett Brothers
2. Where Are You Going, Dave Matthews
3. Breakdown, Jack Johnson
4. (tie) Savannah Fare You Well and Floridays, Jimmy Buffett
5. Angel in the Snow, Elliott Smith

Top 5 Best Pieces of Advice I Have Ever Received From My Mom
1. "Always carry a jacket with you from September to May."
2. "Never use Nair on your eyebrows ever again." (after an unfortunate incident in 6th grade)
3. "Melissa, you should never be a nurse." (after my sister threw up on me and I nearly passed out)
4. "Eating a new food adds 7 years on your life." (there is no verification if this is actually true. Yet)
5. "If you are having a bad day you should read the jokes in Reader's Digest."

Top 5 Things You Would Only Know If You Really Knew Me:
1. I had a Star Wars birthday party for my 10th birthday
2. I like grocery shopping more than any other kind of shopping
3. A huge pet peeve of mine is when words are misspelled on purpose. (Ex: KOOL Aid)
4. I accidentally rolled my sister out of her baby crib the day she came home from the hospital
5. As a child, I thought my dad was a train conductor. Actually, he worked for Trane Heating and Air. Easy mistake to make for a kid. 

Top 5 Ficitional Characters Figures I Would Like To Have Lunch With:
1. Jo March, Little Women
2. Scarlett O'Hara, Gone with the Wind
3. Kristy Thomas, the Babysitters Club
4. Coach Eric Taylor, Friday Night Lights
5. Luna Lovegood, from the Harry Potter books

Top 5 Movies I Will Always Get Sucked Into Watching When They Are On TV:
1. Forrest Gump
2. the Indiana Jones trilogy
3. the Sound of Music
4. Jumanji
5. the Shining (even though I know it scares me)

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