Room 3104.

In the beginning, I was pretty sure Aubrey thought I was insane.
Jori was almost too sweet to even believe.
And I knew with Emily around I definitely would't ever be bored.
Tiffany was hilarious and for sure not what I expected.
And finally I could have never guessed Haili and I would ever end up being so close. (aka chicken nugget)

Just a mere 7 weeks ago, these five girls were complete strangers to me.
And today, at the risk of sounding cheesy, we're best friends and a (very special and unique) family.

In fact, we call ourselves the #futurhousewivesofroom3104

I kid you not, if you spent a day in our apartment you would understand why I love it so much.

You'd laugh until you cried.
You would experience what terrible cooking is at its finest.
And probably hear about 50% of BYU's cute boy population.
Oh, and you'd get a kick out of our bizarre calendar that is labeled with everything from "Midterms today!" to "I saw a llama walking across campus."
You would hear countless mean girl and/or Disney references.
And the phrase, "I'm never going to get married!!!" hundreds of times.
You would become educated on the many ways to wear a scarf, including as a turban.
And you may hear us insult one another, but really, it's how we say "I love you."
Maybe you'd have a theory about what happened to the missing chicken.
But most of all, you'd see why I love living here with these 5 amazing people.

They're truly amazing, and it's no coincidence we all ended up together.

When you first meet all of us, you wouldn't expect us to even like each other.
Then put together the six of us and all our weird quarks and strong personalities into one small apartment and it really shouldn't work,
But it does.
It just works.
And I love these girls,
Every single one of them,
So, so much.

#apartment3104forever

Sincerely,

Samantha Dru 

(sometimes referred to as Chicken)

Happy Birthday Buddy(:

The kindest,

Most sincere,

Selfless,

Forgiving,

Wise, 

Gentle,

Smart,

Talented,

Obedient,

Hard working,

Dedicated,

Wonderful person I know.

To you, a very happy birthday!

You are my very best friend, Mom!

And I wouldn't have it any other way!

You can always make me laugh,

And you're always there when I need to cry.

You give the best advice,

And you help me be the best Sam I can be!

And for that, I am forever grateful!

You will forever hold a very precious place in my heart.

And you will always be my best buddy(:

I love you Mom!

Happy birthday!(:

       

Sincerely,

Samantha Dru

But if not.

But if not.

I have a plan.
I know what I want my life to be like.

I want a good life.
A simple life.
A happy life.
Filled with love, adventure, truth, and joy.

That's always been my plan.
But more often than not, my plans take a detour.

And it hurts.
It scares me.
And I simply don't understand why I can't seem to find the happiness I so desperately want.

So I still have my plan.
I still want that good and simple life.

But if not,
If I don't find exactly what I'm looking for,
If it's taking a little longer then I expected,
I still have to keep moving forward.

Because even though its not going according to my plan,
There's someone else who knows what I need a lot better than I know.
He has a plan for me.
A perfect plan.

Sincerely,

Samantha Dru

TJ and Janene.

I've read hundreds of love stories.
And I've watched all the best chick flicks (several times each I might add).
And none of those compare to the love story of TJ and Janene.

It started 6 years ago when they were both sophomores at AF.
It started with hello, and in no time at all, you could just tell.

You can see it in the way he looks at her.
You can see it in the way she blushes every time he kisses her.
You can just see it, really.

It's a love story for the ages.
And I've know it for years.

I'm so excited that these two could be married for time and all eternity.
They were made for each other, and when you see them together, it just makes sense why it didn't work out with anyone else.

Congratulations TJ and Janene!
Today it really all begins.
Today through forever.

Sincerely,

Samantha Dru

Graduation Day!

In my family, we have this running joke that certain things that happen to me are things that would only ever happen to me.

But it makes for good stories and always a good laugh.

And of course, graduation couldn't be the exception to the rule.

I'd been waiting for that day for years.

I mean I had a paper chain for the last 100 days of high school.

I was so excited in fact, I had convinced myself that it was going to be the perfect day.

And things were going smoothly, and I almost believed the day would go off without a hitch.

I was so close,

So close to being done.

All that was left was my name being called so I could walk across the stage to receive my diploma.

I waited patiently for my name to be called.

There were only a few people left in front of me.

Right before it was my turn the announcer asked me, "Do you want your name to be called as Samantha Dru Murphy or Samantha Murphy?"

"Sam Murphy or Samantha Dru Murphy, really anything but just Samantha Murphy," I replied.

And then it was my turn.

They're calling my name.

"Samantha Murdock."

What?!?!

That isn't my name!

But yes, they mean me...

I walked across the stage, thinking to myself,

"I have three choices here: get mad, cry, or laugh because this is one of those things that would only ever happen to me."

So I laughed(:

And at the end of the day, even though technically Sam Murphy really wasn't even part of the program, I'm still so excited to have made it this far!

And high school, now that I'm all done, here is what I have to say to you.

You nearly did me in.

And you weren't the party everyone promised you'd be.

And let's be honest, we're not the best of friends.

We've had our ups and downs,

Mostly downs.

And I can't say I'm going to miss you.

But you taught me a lot, and helped me become who I am today.

And even though I'd never in a million years go back,

I wouldn't trade these last four years for the world.

So high school,

Thanks for everything.

And now I'm on to bigger and better things!

Sincerely,

Samantha Dru

Senior Prom.

Senior Prom.

Its what every girl looks forward to all of high school.

Its when I forget that I'm a broke future college student and buy that perfect dress.

And its the night that, just for a few hours, I get to feel like a princess. 

Every girl dreams about it.

You go with that perfect boy.

You wear the perfect dress.

Do your hair just right.

And dance the night away.

Well, I did wear my perfect dress,

And my hair was gorgeous,

and I definitely danced the night away.

There was one thing that was a little different,

I didn't even know my date.

You heard me.

My senior prom was a blind date.

And I'm not going to lie,

I didn't know what to expect.

But it was perfect.

He was a complete gentlemen.

Opened all the doors for me,

Pulled out a chair for me to sit in,

And made it such a fun night!

Thank you Jarek for making my senior prom such an amazing night!

Sincerely,

Samantha Dru

Because of Him.

Easter.

A day of celebration.

A celebration of Christ's resurrection.

What a miraculous event this was.

And because of Him,

Because of His selfless sacrifice that only He could perform,

I can live a wonderful, worthy life.

He suffered the greatest pain to atone for my sins,

And then died for me,

So that I could be forgiven of my sins and return to live with Him and Heavenly Father again one day.

I will never be able to repay Christ for all He has given me.

Because of Him I can be with my family forever.

Because of Him I can one day be married in the temple.

Because of Him I stand today, worthy, with a sure testimony, and very happy.

I owe Christ all that I have, all that I am, and all I will ever become.

I love my Savior.

He has given me everything.

And He is everything to me.

Sincerely,

Samantha Dru