Today's Memory Monday guest is one of my favorite people to chat with! Katelyn is hilarious and fun and I always leave our conversations with a smile on my face. I'm so excited that she's my guest today, so let's show her lots of love!!
BIO
My name is Katelyn and I’m the crazy blogger behind Katelyn’s Blog (catchy title, huh?). When I’m not reading, my time is mostly taken up by my family (3 brother + 2 sisters + 3 dogs = LOTS of madness), college (hope to become a high school math/English teacher), and working (I’ve got to pay for my book/shoe/food addictions somehow).The only two things that keep sane during my crazy days are books and music. I love to read anything young adult but my heart beats a little stronger for contemporary fiction. I am a total fan-girl to Sarah Dessen, Melina Marchetta, Jennifer Echols, Simone Elkeles, We The Kings, Taylor Swift, and Augustana. You can always ask me for a book or music recommendations because I’m pretty awesome like that!
MEMORY POST
When Ashley first asked me if I wanted to do a Memory Monday post, I instantly said HECK YES! I love Ashley hard core so it was a no-brainer. However, when I got to thinking about what book-loving memory I would like to talk about, I drew a complete blank. My initial instinct was to make up a corny story of how my grandpa taught me to read (my grandpa teaching me to read is not made up but the books he used would have most likely been complete fibs because I can’t remember any of them! *insert sad Katelyn here*) but then my morals got the better of me and I decided to tell as much of a truthful memory as I could. I then proceeded to call up my best friend Kati. It was in the middle of dialing her number that I was struck with inspiration. Kati is my best friend. Kati loves to read much like myself. Kati and I have shared great memories with books. It was the biggest Ah-ha moment EVER!
Kati and I have been best friends since the sixth grade. That is nearly NINE years! Over the years we have shared a crazy amount of laughs, a few tears, and more than enough AWESOME memories to last a lifetime, and yes, many of those memories do stem around our book-loving nerdiness.
There have been many times where I’ve thrown books into Kati’s hands simply saying, “Read this now, you will love it,” and she has done the same for me. One book, or series in fact, is called The Secret Society Girl and it is written by an author I simply adore, Diana Peterfreund. Kati told me I would read the whole series within a few days, laugh my butt off, want to it be a movie, and then move to Hollywood because I’ll want to put my superb (HAHA!) acting skills to the test so I could play the main character, Amy. Well let me tell you, Kati couldn’t have been more right! This series is downright hilarious and I will recommend it time and time again to any person off the street.
In this series, we follow a young woman named Amy as she struggles through her last two years at a major university, Eli College. During the end of her senior year, Amy is “tapped” into a secret society that up until that point was an all male society. Throughout the course of the four book series, we see Amy as she tries to make it through her classes, her roles in the society, and her fair share of relationship issues. Amy’s outlook on life, her sense of humor, and the way she speaks her mind will have you rolling on the floor laughing. However, for Kati and I, this book has become so much more than just an enjoyable read, it has become a tradition for us!
Every year the two of us girls go on at least one trip together. A few years ago my family, along with Kati and I, went to Tennessee to stay in a log cabin. The year after that, Kati and I flew out to California to visit her aunt. Just this past spring, we took a trip to Myrtle Beach with Kati’s mom and her best friend. While all these trips were unique and special in their own way, there was one important constant between them and that is The Secret Society Girl series went wherever we went. Every time we would pack to leave for a trip we would make sure that Amy and all her society members were packed in the suitcase too. It always started off with Kati reading the first book while I read a different book I brought on the trip. After she was finished with the first book, she moved onto the second book while I started the first. By the end of our trip, we would both have the series read, and a whole slew of memories to remember years later.
Now when I re-read The Secret Society Girl series, I am reminded of all the fun times Kati and I shared on our trips together. I can think about the creepy caves we went to in Tennessee and our fun times at Dollywood. I remember nearly drowning TWICE in California and all of the great food we ate (yummmm!). And I can now look back on our trip to Myrtle Beach and think of the ducks we fed, the seagulls that tried to eat me, and the crazy sunburns we got in the most uncomfortable places.
During each trip, The Secret Society Girl series seemed almost like an afterthought but looking back now I can see that is not the case. By reading this book during each trip with Kati, I am able to easily recall all the awesome times we had together. Each time I read it I am reminded of something funny that happened, which with the two of us is quite frequent. I am reminded of just how lucky we are to be able to share so many amazing moments together. But most importantly I am also reminded of just how great my best friend is. (It is cheesy I know, but it is the truth!)
I’d like to thank Ashley for having me today! Let it be known that if Ashley were to live in Michigan with us, she would have no doubt been an exceedingly perfect addition to mine and Kati’s pack!
Katelyn, you are SO welcome! I loved this post and am once again reminded (that's what, 5 times now?) that I need to give this series a read! Thanks so much for sharing your crazy fun memories with us!:)