This is Aggie

This is Aggie.

I call her "Aggs" or "Swaggs" and sometimes "Newt," but it hasn't stuck, and I'm always workshopping new names.

She likes slow mornings and drinks her tea obnoxiously hot.

She likes candy in her chocolate and her old digital camera that hardly works.

She loves looking through photos, mainly of herself, and is obsessed with Halloween, especially the bloody gory makeup part.

She feels deeply connected to nature. There's almost nothing a trip to the sea couldn't fix.

She has a favorite mountain, and hikes it often. She never gets summit fever. It's not about the brag for Aggie, she doesn't want anything to show for her time outdoors, she's just happy to be there.

I swear the sun is her soulmate. We imitate the things we love. For Aggie, it's the sun. She paints my world warm.

She appreciates everything. She'll notice how the river flows, one day to the next. She'll stand admiring interesting bark for five minutes. Nothing is too small, too insignificant to Aggie.

She's fun, like a kid. Innately, unequivocally, contagiously fun. She's silly, and weird and free.

Seemingly contradictory, she's quite serious. She's a rule follower, worrier, overthinker, and is always early. She feels everything deeply. She's introspective and sometimes kind of a know-it-all. Don't play crosswords with her, you won't get a word in edgewise.

She has a bleeding heart. She is passionately empathetic to basically any cause. She's quite soft. Tough and strong, decisive and independent, but so so so soft. She loves hard, and also hates hard.

She's incredible at building community wherever she goes. She's a spirited conversationalist, connecting anything to anyone with zeal and vigor. She makes everyone feel like a friend. With a touch of evil, she'd make an excellent cult leader.

She's always the first to apologize. She never takes off her Casio, even when she dresses up. She hikes slow and sleeps in. She eats sweets only seconds after finishing a meal. It's what she likes. It's how she pleases to live.

I admire her for this. The simplicity of knowing who you are and having the courage to be it.

It is the greatest gift of my life to know Aggie. And I love her dearly.