This Right here ^ Is Matthew Scott Everett.
Right now, He is serving a full time mission in Mexico City West.
I am home for the Thanksgiving Holidays and was going through my bedroom, reminiscing the good old days of high school and before. I decided to go back and read through my journals and look through all of my pictures of my senior year of high school. Along with dance photos, old mic tape from shows that had somehow ended up rolled up and preserved in my journal, and many a crazy high school memory, I came across countless journal entries about my best friend (who is handsomely posing above)
I realized that I never fully publicly described all of the things that I learned from him, nor did I, beyond a short facebook post the day he left, describe how inspirational, and wonderful Matt is. I decided it was probably time that I fully express how appreciative I am of him and his example to me.
I sat down and thought of the top 10 things that I learned from Matt which are as follows.
10. God puts people in our path for a purpose. He has a hand in the way that they meet, and knows when is the proper time to bring two friends together.
There were so many ways where the lord guided this friendship. Both of us were going through some overwhelming times. He had just recovered from surgery, and received a mission call, and I had just quit my drama program that I loved as a leap of faith and following prompting that left me with a lot of lonely days and hard times- granted I never regretted it, but that's an entirely different story of it's own. Heavenly Father knew we both needed a pal to confide in. Through a series of little miracles and tender mercies Matt and I met just in time to be that pal that the other needed. Matt was always very quick to attribute "coincidence" to God, and His hand in our lives and in our friendship.
(The tennis balls we played with the day we met. so fun!)
9. My Bowling Score Doesn't Determine my Worth- I am awful at bowling. I'll face it. The thought of a strike was far beyond anything I ever in my wildest dreams could have imagined. (except for that one fluke time when I got like 3, right Nathan?) Although I epically failed, Matt was always very encouraging that it my worth didn't depend on my bowling score- or any other successes or failures for that matter. He was always very encouraging, believed in me, and told me to get back up whenever I failed at anything in life.
8. The Goofy Movie really is the best. Nuf said.
7. Rivals make the best of friends.
Cats trump Indians. Always. But if you were to ask him- he'd say Indians trump kitties any day. We couldn't be more different in our school associations. High school rivals. College rivals. You name it. We're rivals. It was always entertaining to poke fun at our rivalry and laugh that neither of us ever would have anticipated our best friend being a die hard UTE/COUGAR or BRAVE/CAT. But what I respected so much about Matt was that he always knew when to stop. We both have witnessed so much classless bashing on both sides- and Matt, though always first to poke fun, was always considerate and classy in his teasing. Such a relief from all the classless bashing that goes on. Sportsmanship was one of Matt's best qualities.
6. So What if the Cookies get burned? The dough's the good part right?
One evening, we decided we would make a batch of cookies. (Though, mostly on my part- I just like the dough. And we probably had enough to feed a missionary farewell. but that's besides the point) He was baking, I was writing songs for Nathan about how stupid junior high girls are since he had a couple mean ones on his case. We got in a pretty awesome flour fight. Although the cookies epically failed- the process of making them was a blast. He always made the best of every situation, and found a way to make every experience worthwhile. He made me want to be even more of an optimist because even if we epically failed at whatever we planned- we still found ways to make it an adventure.
5,4,3,2,:
The last things that Matt taught me can be found in one single journal entry I wrote shortly after he left for the MTC. It pretty much sums it all up. (which is what sparked the idea to do this post in the first place.)
"
Matt taught
me to be selfless. Matt helped me to love myself, and recognize the
daughter of God that I am daily, and to use that to help others. Matt taught me what it was to love
others and yourself unconditionally. Matt taught me patience. Matt showed
me gentleness, kindness, and christlike love. Matt taught me that Disney movies are pretty much the bees knees. Matt helped me learn how to find
answers to my prayers about the simple things in life. Matt taught me that the goofy movie is probably the best movie ever made. Matt taught me that the
temple is the ultimate goal. Matt helped me to recognize the divine hand in my daily life. Matt showed me what it was to be a true best friend. Matt introduced me to Daniel Beck- and that alone is something to be notably thanked for. He rocks. Matt taught me that even boys will interpretive dance to Taylor Swift if they're manly. Matt taught me adventure. Matt taught me to never settle for content- strive for happy. Matt helped me realize that football really isn't so bad.
Matt's humility was one of his most outstanding characteristics. He was humble about his accomplishments, always attributed his successes that he had had to Heavenly Father, and was very sweet about everything he did.
And although
he beat himself to a pulp at times, He taught me what it was to be mighty in
faith, to rely on the Lord for everything ,and to keep moving forward. His
example is one that I will never ever be able to repay. I know he his going to be an outstanding missionary, and I will be forever thankful for the wonderful friendship that he has given me. He will be missed, but I am so proud of him for his missionary service."
1. Matt Loves The Savior.
The most important, most notable, and most inspiring thing about Matt is his love for the Savior. From his favorite song, "Gentle Savior" to his missionary letters wherein he testifies of the savior and how his imperfections can be replaced with strengths (Ether 12:27) through Christ. He has more faith than any I have ever seen. He willingly hands himself to the Lord and allows himself to be molded and shaped into what the Lord wants of him. He tried his hardest to emulate the Savior in every way- and was very successful at it.
He is merciful, charitable and caring just as the Savior. I cannot even count all of the times when he would come over when I was sick and keep me company, gave me blessings, and cared for me when I wasn't feeling well. And although he is far from perfect, as we all are, what matters to me, is that he gave it his all. He had a strong relationship with Christ and allowed that to shine through all of his actions.
I am grateful for his example that strengthened my testimony so much by him sharing his testimony through his daily actions.
(skype snapshot I took while we studied scriptures)
(The Gang)
So I'll wrap it up here.
Along with thousands of memories, hours of laughter, and gallons of hot cocoa, Matt was an inspiration and an excellent example to me.
I am so glad he is doing so well out in the mission field and I know he will continue to influence lives as he brings others to Christ out there.
Just felt like I needed to fully express my appreciation for such an amazing friend.
"Because I knew You- I have been Changed for Good."- Wicked
