Becca and I first crossed paths in Oxford 2011. She was working at the church I attended while studying abroad. I have a photo with her in the background. Went to her flat to visit her flatmates. But we never actually met! I ended up moving back to Oxford after she had left and lived in her old room. Finally, we officially met when I moved back to LA in 2016, and our fate was sealed as we moved into an apartment to share a room. Complete strangers, but not really strangers at all. We’ve moved together around LA ever since. I feel so privileged to have watched her and Clay's relationship grow and flourish over the years. I’ll be sad to lose her as a housemate, but I’m so happy to have the divinely intended friendship we were destined to have x
One evening I was bored with nothing to do and my roomie at the time invited me to Wine Stop. It was a Thurs night tasting and it was packed, and I cannot wait for those days again. I noticed Becca at the bar with peoples I knew because I thought she was stunning (not in a creepy way.) We only briefly chatted and then afterwards a group of us went out to pizza. It was on the walk to the pizza spot I chatted with Clay and he told me about how Jesus had changed his life and it was his girlfriend that had led him more to Jesus. I thought their story was so unique and that Becca was too cool for me. But we reconnected on Facebook of all places short after and ended up meeting up for coffee. We talked for hours and hours and hours. And I was like wow this is someone I need to be friends with. And the rest is history<3 Also just wanna mention that Becca is one of the most creative, intentional, caring, and fun friends ever.
Rebecca and I met serendipitously :) We both lived in Oxford in 2011, even running in the same circles, but never met. A few years later I moved back to Oxford, and she was in LA getting her degree. I happened to meet a boy and fall in love, who happened to be from LA. Becca just so happened to follow him on ig, and even saw us once in a coffee shop on one of my visits. We didn’t meet then either. A year later, I moved to LA to be with this boy, had two roommates in the works, but was looking for a third. Throughout this transition, Becca and I had been messaging on ig, becoming acquaintances through mutual love of our cities and tck backgrounds. We planned a coffee date, and finally, met face to face.
Of course, I could instantly tell that we would be fast friends. We are extremely similar in how we see the world, our global experiences, our passions, emotions, etc. On that very first coffee date, I mentioned being on the lookout for a third roommate, she just so happened to be in need of a change…and just like that, Becca became my roommate, which led her to become one of my best friends. Living together sealed the deal. Talks in bed, coffee dates, those early LA years of discovering ourselves, figuring out life goals, having fun in a big city. I got married to that LA boy and moved out. Becca was a part of my wedding (I still remember the green velvet dress she wore so vividly). In such a short time, she had become one of the most present and important people in my life. All because of an Oxford cross-over and Instagram.
As I navigated marriage, she navigated a deepening relationship. We continue our coffee dates, almost weekly, and never stopped sharing ourselves with each other. Her’s was one of the most honest perspectives I could get when needing advice, support, or simply friendship. Our dates got bigger to include our other humans, Fred and Clay. We began cooking meals together constantly, doing photoshoots, mini trips, holidays, dancing, wine nights, movie nights…Becca and Clay were a major part of our community in LA, and made our experience there so much richer (and happier!).
It feels strange to talk about the past, for Fred and I have moved to Scotland during covid, and have left our beautiful friends in LA. We kept up the wine nights, just now on zoom. Becca and I have moved our coffee dates into the virtual as well. I miss her every day. I can honestly say that Becca sees and understands me in a way no one else in my life does. I am beyond joyful for her and Clay, who I’ve come to love so much too, and cannot wait for them to get married and begin a whole new season. That’s the wonderful thing about lasting friendships—no matter if you are in the same city or different, you see your best friend grow into herself, and know you get to be one of the few who is allowed to be a part of the process.
I love you Becca; love you Clay. You are forever in our lives! Cheers to all our good times (and good food) to come!
The first time we met has stuck in my mind ever since. It was early September 2011 on Pembroke street, (ALMOST 10 YEAR AGO!!!). We met in the bedroom of our flat, where we were going to share a year of internship at St Aldates Church, in the beautiful city of Oxford. We looked into each other's eyes, as an introvert, her eyes were looking at me with concern. And as an extrovert, I was looking at her with excitement knowing that she was going to be the one talking with me all night long, every night of the entire year. But as my English was equal to zero, we didn’t speak any common language, the only way to communicate in the beginning was through smiles, laughs, actions, dances, and mimes. Despite this challenge of a language barrier, we had this very special connection right from the beginning, almost like a love story, except that I am not the one she is going to marry next February (damn it!)
Our friendship had flourished throughout that beautiful year, sharing the good and fun moments, hard times, but always growing together. One thing that I would never forget is there was a night, as interns (at St Aldates Church), we decided to « borrow » some cookies from the church and watch a movie inside the Parish Center. It was getting late and someone had locked up the building - we were locked in! Clueless as we were leaving the building, the alarm went off... we panicked and got so scared. And that became our most favorite hilarious moment of all time!
Becca has always been a role model to me, she was for sure the coolest among my friends, with her short hair and her unique style. With all of her kindness and patience, she took care of me as a big sister would do to a younger sister. Our sisterhood is still here and beautiful after all these years, regardless of distance. I am so excited to be one of her bridesmaids (virtual bridesmaid!!!)
I met Clay in high school; he was an incoming freshman and I was a senior. Being in the same dance class with him was coincidental, or orchestrated by fate depending on your outlook. As Clay consistently corrects me how we met was because of my camera that I carried around the school; he approached me and complimented that I had a cool camera and at that moment, I offered it to him to shoot around the school for the day. He didn’t ask to borrow it, and he was surprised that there was a significant amount of trust between two strangers to carry an expensive camera.
After I graduated we still kept in touch, and slowly we started to hang out more often. We created short videos for his art school applications, experimented with creative ideas. Over time as we hung out and created art we grew closer. He helped me appreciate the types of good food that’s outside of our hometown, and we’ve been there for each other when we had internal conflicts, but Clay has been there for me more times than I can remember, guiding me on how to handle my emotions and stressful situations that I didn’t know how to tackle. It’s been a blessing to grow with Clay, and I'm thankful that he’s always been that constant friend who helps me navigate through life, provide clarity, and a different outlook on the world and the present.
