If there is one thing I love more than chocolate, it is football tailgates. In college, you wake up early, throw on a bunch of glitter and spend the day with your friends, on someone’s front lawn, dancing to loud music. Well, the first tailgate I was attending in my “Post Graduate” stage of life was the Michigan State Vs. Notre Dame Game in South Bend. I was extremely excited about this game because I went to school in the area and had been attending Notre Dame games with my friends since grade school.

I knew all my friends were going and that I would be spending the day with them just like old times. I decided to purchase a cheap Michigan State football shirt from Meijer and cut it open in the front like Kendall Jenner has been doing with all of her rock’n’roll shirts. The steps to do it are very simple:

1. Fold the shirt in half (long ways so the shirts sleeves touch evenly)
2. Draw diagonal, even lines from the collar of the shirt towards the center on both sides – close to where your collar bones would be
3. Unfold the shirt and lay it down flat on an even surface
4. Cut directly under the collar, missing the seam until you reach the diagonal lines
5. Cut down the diagonal lines and then if they don’t quite meet (which they won’t) cut straight across

And that’s it! Super easy and a fun, simple way to look like a celebrity. It may help to pull up a photo of Kendall wearing one of these shirts if you can!

Tailgating at Notre Dame is unlike anywhere else. Everyone tailgates in the main parking lot area and hop from tent to tent. Luckily, all of my friends tailgates were fairly close to one another so it was easy to meet up. There is tons of food, music and famous Naquin Blood Marys to drink. Although the game may had lasted 4 hours and I knew every single Irish cheer, Michigan State lead their way to victory that night.

Old Traditions, Same Friends

It was so great to be around so many people who I had not been with in a very long time. As I was glancing at pictures the next day, I thought to myself, I had known those girls for almost 10 years. 10 YEARS!? That is crazy, that is almost half of my life. Sometimes, I take special things like friendship for granted but to think 10 years and we can still all get together and it’s like nothing has changed. That is special. Sure we have all grown apart, had different experiences but at the end of it all, we have kept up with one another and made sure we know what the other is doing with their life and that is what truly matters.

I think about it all the time, the friends I have made and the special parts they have played in my life. Some haven’t stayed as long as others and that is okay. Some leave and return, some I go without seeing for such a long time but I know that they love me and I have so much love for them. That is life though, people change, they grow with you or without you and at the end of the day you just have to let them know how much you love them. No matter what.

Honestly, true friends don’t talk everyday or maybe they do. Every friendship is different. Some you can go months without seeing and it is like no time has passed. Others need different attention and that’s okay. I love my friends and what I am so thankful for is every lesson they have taught me, every time they have been there for me and every memory I have made with them. I am so thankful for my hometown homies. They hold a dear place in my heart and always will. I love you all so much!

-I am sorry that this is one of my long and gushy posts but hey I would raise hell for every single one of you, especially if a muffin was thrown at your face in the cafeteria.