BRIDESMAIDS
“Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind.”
~ Dr. Seuss ~
Crystal McMoore
Crystal (who I call Crysta because I’m lazy) is my older cousin (yes, older 😛 ) and bestie! She was so excited when I was born because she could finally have a fellow nerd in the family in her age group! We’ve always been kindred spirits who say we’re going out to party and then usually end up getting takeout and watching movies or Netflix on the couch. I think I’ve been to every apartment and house where she’s lived (and trust me, she’s lived in a lot of places). Even though we do enjoy being home and comfy, we’ve still had our share of adventures – rapping on roller coasters, spending Valentine’s weekend in the Poconos with our Valentine Christopher, Philly fun, escaping from business school to Charlotte to hang with her and the kids, Memphis NYE parties, Essence Festival, our singing group MacRich (recorded live for the first time in the Six Flags St. Louis recording studio), little black dress night, and so much more than I can name and probably even remember. She, like La Vida, remembers and documents my craziest quotes but doesn’t hold them against me. To top it all off, she always shares her friends with me!
We’ve seen each other through the best and worst of times, and I’ve always looked up to her and admired her strength and smarts. She’s been through enough to break most, but instead she has leaned on God to overcome the worst and managed to still be a role model and cheerleader for little ole me. I’m also her daughter’s godmother, so she must really trust me (for some reason).
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Tanieka Carter
Neka is my only slightly older cousin, but we grew up more like sisters! We fought over who would get to use the pink cup (who really wanted the blue one?), had the same toys with L and T on them, and were forced to dress alike often. We had big imaginations as kids, making mud pies and biscuits and grass salads when we didn’t know what else to do when staying at Madea’s house in the country, choreographing dances to songs like “Here Comes the Hotstepper”, and forcing our little siblings to be our students while we “played school”.
We didn’t always get along (as is the case with sisters of course), and I would always win if we got into a little scuffle (because she’s always been “bones” as Crysta calls her); however, no matter what happened or whose fault it was, she would always write me a sweet note saying she was sorry and how much she cared about me. I think that describes how I’ve known Neka my whole life – tough and assertive on the outside and soft on the inside. Even when we were in the high school band together and the older boys tried to pick on me because they thought I was spying for my daddy (band director at a rival school), she always looked out for me.
We have more memories than could ever be listed here, but I’m grateful that, no matter how different we are and always have been, that we have each other as family to lean on.
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Tierra Burrell
Ti is my college bestie! We started off in the same dorm (Keeney Quad!) and were roommates/suitemates/hallway-mates throughout the rest of college. In college, everything felt like a big deal, and Ti was right there with me through the most dramatic moments of young adulthood, even when every crush felt like a potential husband. I specifically remember Valentine’s Day freshman year laying in my tiny basement dorm room (which yes, I still had to share with a whole other person) playing H-Town’s “Emotions”, singing along to “Emotions make you cry sometiiiiiimes.” Thankfully, she decided to still be my friend after that. We had lots of fun, lots of firsts, and made lots of great memories. From everyday lunches in the Ratty or V-Dub to late night meals at Jo’s (when I wasn’t working the late night shift) to Howard Homecoming visits to get our HBCU fix to “Girlfriends” watch nights and Harambee parties, my college experience wouldn’t have been nearly the same without Ti. She also helped me get through one of my toughest challenges in college – the loss of my grandmommy and granddaddy.
She witnessed me grow from an insecure, immature girl into a slightly less immature woman…lol We had some of our first drinks together, partied together, cried together, almost failed classes together, and made it through the Ivy League as black women together! Ti is awesome, and I’m so proud that I get to say that I have a doctor friend. 🙂
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Elise Fullwood
At one point, I thought I was completely different from everyone else in my business school class, then I met Elise. Now she is my favorite favorite friend from business school (and former neighbor)! I think she’s one of the most loyal and honest people I’ve known, and going through the ups and downs of doing business school, especially as black women, definitely bonded us. It was great to have that genuine friend to talk to when you wanted to quit or didn’t know what you wanted to do with your life or thought you weren’t good enough to be where you were. We have explored Durham and Raleigh, traveled around the world together (literally – India, Thailand, Costa Rica), and done everything from watch silly YouTube videos and reality shows to ride elephants together to see Queen Bey perform in a stadium. I’ll definitely be depending on her fashionista ways to help me figure out how to pull together these bridesmaid outfits.
She is such an authentic, kind, and amazing person and taught me that, in spite of what Drake claims, YES new friends!
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Shonnia Burton
Shonnia is my future little sister! Like any little sister, she gets on my nerves most of the time. 😛 Even though we joke a lot, it’s clear that she loved me from the beginning and hoped with all of her heart that Corey would marry me. Shonnia is kind, considerate, smart, an ultra superhero nerd, a serious reader, and funny when she’s not getting on your nerves. She also has something in common with my mama that I really respect – helping to take care of her mom when she is sick and needs it most.
She helps me keep her brother in line and has kindly accepted me into the Burton family. She also has offered to babysit for us for life, even though I’m not sure that I trust her like that yet. Love you (sometimes)! 🙂
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