Livin' and Lovin' in A-town

Friday's "Paint a Picture"

My friend Kim has a series on her blog called "Monday's Paint a Picture." Basically, every Monday Kim posts an entry about an individual, who happens to be a friend of hers, with the intent of giving her readers the opportunity to "get to know" this individual better. To give you an idea of what this looks like, here is a link to one of her "Paint a Picture" entries. This entry was pretty special to me.

So, over the past few months, I've been reading Kim's blog and I've realized that a very important person has been left out of the "Monday's Paint a Picture" series...Kim. Now, I completely understand that she's not going to dedicate an entire post to herself, nor is she going to ask her friends to comment on what a great person she is, so I've decided to take matters into my own hands and dedicate this "Paint a Picture" entry to my pal, Kim Smith.

I first got to know Kim through our social club, GATA, at our grand ole' alma mater. I knew who she was during our sophomore year, pledged with her, but didn't really get to know her until our junior year of college. Now, I don't remember the instant we became friends or the event that took place that brought us together, but I do know that my college experience would not have been as fun without her in my life. I can't even begin to tell you about all of my memories with Kim. Some of them I can't write down, some are just too long to even tell, and others no one else would find funny except the two of us. I have memories from intramurals, pranking, officer meetings, road trips, making costumes, Sing Song and the list goes on. Kim's a little bitty thing, but she's got a lot of heart and more determination than most of the people I know.

I'm honored to call Kim one of my best friends. I'm thankful that she and I have been able to stay close after we graduated from college and I'm blessed to have her in my life. She's honest, trustworthy, dependable, funny, strong, positive and much, much more. Below are a few comments from other friends of Kim's. If you know Kim and appreciate who she is and what she does, please leave a comment and let her know what she means to you.

Kim is a great friend for so many reasons. She's always willing to help someone else out, go out of her way to make you smile or send an e-mail that makes your day. I love her laugh, sense of humor and thoughtfulness.
-Misty Willcox

Well, I hate to encourage the growth of Kim’s head, but I do have to admit that she is an amazing gal! She has a wonderful and unique sense of humor that everyone seems to enjoy. I almost always end up laughing every time I see her or talk to her.
-Cheryl Leland

Kimberly is someone I take pride in knowing and in being able to call one of my closest friends. I have known her for over four years now. Those who don’t know her personally, or who have never had the chance to meet her, are truly missing out on something great. She offers up so many amazing things to this world that one cannot even begin to count them all on their fingers. Just a few of the things I love about her are: her constant pursuit of honesty, her awesome sense of humor, her outgoingness, her love of people and of friends, and her leadership capabilities. Besides that, she is also a great writer! People like Kimberly stand out from the crowd and are loved by many. Indeed, one can only hope to learn many great things from this unique, loving, intellectual, human being! -Holly Herr

My favorite memories of her are from my sophomore year when we lived across the "street" from each other - in Morris and UP, and also all the fun times we've had since moving back to the Metroplex. I'm also excited that she is working with me to accoplish one of my 100 life goals - to see every movie that's ever been named Best Picture! In short, if you're with Kim, you're probably having a great time! Love ya, pal!!!
-Misty Willcox

Some of my best memories were when we lived across the hall from each other in the dorms sophomore year. I remember on several occasions looking out my door and seeing Kim with her door open, "microphone" in hand, dancing and singing in front of her mirror (one of the things she does best). While she is so light-hearted and playful, she also has a serious side that she lets her close friends see. Kim and I have had many “deep” conversations over the years and she doesn’t hesitate to challenge my thinking. She is very intelligent and she loves to learn new things! Kim also seems to be able to find the good in almost any situation.
She almost always seems to be thinking positively, which can be very hard in some situations. I have to say, if there’s one thing that Kim can do well, it’s love life. -Cheryl Leland

I have many great memories of Kimberly. For one, she is a great pal to have as a partner in crime. I’ll never forget all the times we spent pranking together in college. She always came up with such clever ideas. If anyone ever needs pranking advice, she’s the one to consult! Also, I’ll never forget all the times Kim has cracked me up. If I had a penny for all those times I’d be a millionaire today! She’s good at taking ones mind off the troubles life can sometimes bring us all as well as helping us to work through them and helping us to improve. Some specific funny memories I have of and with Kim are of the times she and I would go grocery shopping at H-E-B or Walmart. We’d come up with the FUNNIEST stories while in the checkout line! We’d talk to each other as if we were serious about the story and the cashiers and customers in line would look at us so strangely. That’s Kim for you – always up for a good laugh and very good at improv comedy! Ha Ha. Gotta love it!
-Holly Herr