Marcella (6.3.11)

I had dinner with Brandon Marcella last night at Kaneyama just as a confirmation/graduation gift. I went to adoration and then mass. He picked me up from Notre Dame; I left my car at church. He is now driving his beamerrr!(: it was nice, but I noticed he didn't seem as ecstatic about driving his new car. --which was a hint into the night of the longs talks we would have at dinner. Its amazing to look back and see how four years have changed me. Its amazing to see him start freshmen year and finally finishing just because I remember the freshmen kid he was entering the speech and debate camp during summer. He was late to start off with. Then, he wore extremely baggy jeans, and he sat next to me. I spent the next four years getting to know just like any other classmates. Considering the fact that he was a lower classmen, I really did not think my friendship with him would last as long as I did up until my first year into college. I really didn't think I would be able to connect with him on this level of understanding, but I do which makes me value him as a friend so much more. Its rare for me to find friends like him, hence why I don't have such a broad selection of friends-just acquantainces. I honestly don't remember much encounters with him during school. At first, he was just this goofy kid constantly cracking jokes and being what I thought was him-but that was the facade he wore at school. I think I began to see who he was at church-in the presence of Christ. I remember seeing him and Jeanne at the "God is Calling" retreat at Notre Dame in January 2009. It was his first year of confirmation, and Jeanne's second year. At the time, I thought they were dating. At that time, I still didn't really know him that well. We were still acquaintances. I did not see our friendship progressing to where it was. i don't know how or what it was that connected us. Friends like Minh-Anh and Augusta are the closest thing I call friends because they are the rare ones that can connect closest to my understanding and outlooks on life, but even that can't achieve it at great satisfaction. I often find it difficult to connect to people. Not that they are immature, but I feel like I have such a mature thinking that I feel that people would not be able to understand-not understand the things I go through, not understand the hunger and thirst that this world cant seem to satisfy, not understand my relationship with God, not understand a part of who I was...so this prevented me from truly having high school experiences with friends. What they saw as "fun" never gave me gratification. I wanted more than the party scene and drinking.