Melissa asked me to photograph some portraits of her simply to document this time in her life and my goodness look at her! Isn’t she stunning?! I have known this girl since I was 11 and she was 12. We were both cast in a variety show and shortly moved on from that to create our own performance troop, designing our own shows and booking our own gigs. We were odd kids. Besides chasing boys (a very normal teenage activity) we liked to work and create with our free time. (We mostly worked and created with our free time.) Her home was my second home. Her family was my second family. I am pretty sure I spent just as much time at Melissa’s house when she was not around as when she was. As so many friendships do, we lost touch with one another as we grew older. We found each other on MySpace (remember MySpace?!) right around the same time she met her now husband! Pretty much perfect timing. I got to witness her fall in love and attend her wedding. I am currently very much fascinated with who her two children will become when they enter adulthood. Our friendship means a lot to the both of us, I know. As time goes on, it becomes increasingly nice to have friends that you have such a rich history with and can call family. It is not just nice. It is like winning the lottery. With all the directions life can take us in…