aka Christina Pham

she is most definitely the closest friend to me that is a girl atm, and the thing that i love most about her is her personality as she might be one of the funniest girls i know, simply based upon the fact that she tells it like it is (shoots it straight). i consider whatever she says, whenever she says it, because usually it's a nice nugget of truth...this has been happening since i've known her back in high school [it's rare to have friends who are honest and real who actually know where you're coming from because they know how you work and who you are] + [her bf is awesome]. in fact, i've been one of the most blessed people because of her friendship and it's no doubt that it's just another instance of God's love and grace in my life; i pray that God continues to move her and grow her in her walk as she pursues him. i believe that her awesomeness is correlated to the fact that she's been in love with my mom and my mom with her as they both enjoy baking [insofacto, my mom actually loves you, you're probably win]

insofacto, i love you, christina.

13 of 31

aka Justin "JC" Cheng

after knowing this guy for most of my life, i can easily say he's a brother to me as his warm personality and jokes barely scratch the surface of who he is, and they give a good reflection of his easygoing demeanor, but fail to display the reality that is below -he is a man of great care, thought, and love. he always manages to always take care of his own, whether that be friends, family, girlfriend, or anyone in need; quite the example for so many people including myself and something to be said for in todays society. i respect the fact that he is a realist in that he doesn't ever overextend himself by his own means and does so always without complaint (except the occasional joke of "so bad"). the best parts of JC are those that are seen after the group is gone, when the dust is settled and you're simply hanging out with the man; it's here that he really begins to shine. i am so thankful for him, as he's been a man who is dependable, trustworthy, and most of all a great friend. congrats bro, you finished college!

JC, i love you.

12 of 31

aka Russell Uchizono

words can't really describe this guy and adequately explain what this guy means to me. easily one of the closest friends i have but i'll keep the details short on account of the fact that he is a a deep, complex, and sufficiently thoughtful/sensitive person, one of the best everrr to say the least. he literally was like a brother in my life as his family allowed me to stay at his house all the time...and it's because of his friendship that i am who i am today. tbh, when we were younger, i loved the guy so much, and i think that anytime he was busy with others, i was jealous, but it's only because i admired the guy so much (and still do); i think that as life has gone on, we've grown in our own paths, but in the same way, we understand that it's just by God's grace that we're even allowed to have the blessing of each other daily and for that i am thankful. his drive, motivation, and heart-change that's gone on over the years, is something that everyone should ask to hear from him, because the testament of God's grace is so abundant and clear in purpose. i am truly blessed to be friends and roomies with this guy for so long and i pray that it continues forever.

Russ, i LoVe you.

11 of 31

aka Grant Mizuno

the best roomie ever...that i could have ever had and there is no better explanation for our pairing other than "the dorm compatibility test" (they have you take at the beginning while applying for college) well that or most likely it was God's unending faithful providence in both our lives; our match was probably the closest you could get, passionate for the game of poker, love for japanese food and being Japanese American (or JA's as i like to say), suckers for movies of old (carpool, surf ninja's, bushwhacked, jingle all the way...etc) and quotes within those movies (nobody likes you booster!) the list is endless as i was pretty dumbfounded (in awe of the blessing) at how we were not only paired for fssp (freshmen summer start program) but also for college freshmen year. i remember talking to my mom (back in freshmen year) and saying that if for some crappy reason i didn't graduate, but grant came to know Christ, that nothing else would matter...it would all be worth it and as it goes by God's grace, i not only graduated, but grant came to know Christ, ftw. God's sovereignty and power was so visibly displayed in my roommate that i came to huge changes especially in the fact that i am so faithless and God is so faithful. grant is easily one of the most humble and down to earth guys i know and i can't say much other than i was the most blessed person to have him as my roomie. there are so many things he taught me (like being humble, which i still am learning) and i continue to be blessed by him, even today. i know that he's going to be super successful, obv, because of his heart...one of a kind. like, i just think of him, and i smile with joy because i love the guy so much (no homo), he's the best.

Grant, I love you.

10 of 31

aka Raymond "ray ray" Kim

[ray is one of my smartest friends; both academically, but (more) philosophically]

-ray is the friend i've always wanted to have throughout life and the reason for that is our timeless talks... the conversations we've shared have come to challenge everything i knew about who i was, to even aspects about God's character, resulting into paradigm shifts, ftw [i haven't had too many people in my short lived life challenge and engage my thinking as much as this man has within the past 5 years i've known him]. i believe his curiosity about life will always continue to thrust him into tomorrow to be a better "everything", but the thing that i will continue to admire most is his desire to be more devoted to God in all aspects of his life (huge encouragement). i can't say enough of how awesome this guy is...and how much i miss, hope, and pray that this guy will come back home...and since our time at college was cut short, and albeit, even today i hardly see him now that he's a traveling man in the east...i know that come later in life, he'll be one of the most successful people while challenging the very things those around him have come to call as logic. ray is a man of exceptional swagger, theological thirst, lover of fun, and desire for God. a christmas wish would be to have this guy settle down back in socal. *hint hint*

"no meeee, no men the masterrr"

ray, i love you; come back.

9 of 31

aka Alessandra "ollie" Horii

hands-down the best friend [that's a girl] i had during my time at UCSB; and that's definitely no easy task as i'm a handful to deal with...but i'm thankful/grateful/blessed to be one of her friends. her unending kindness, devotion to growth in her walk, quality of conversation, frank humor, love for food and overall openness are only the start of an endless list of amazing qualities that i cherish endearingly. the joyful ability to entertain me while i procrastinated on every single assignment i was ever given during my 4 year tour of santa barbara is something i will never forget, especially staying up wayyyy too late and talking about nonsense -a favorite memory of mine: when eunice and I were over and an infamous late night talk developed and we had church the next day...and ollie had to drive some freshmen and so we had to go to early service...actually it might've been regular 11 o clock...but before we got to this person's dorm, as we were delusional in the car, she was like, "oh man, i'm so tired, i'll make you cookies if you don't go to church." hahahahaha i think the fact that cookies being offered as a bribe for our laziness was the crown jewel as eunice and I slept in the overflow room @reality that morning [ollie, obv, paid attention during service (actually cares)]. i definitely hit the college jackpot with a friend like ollie and it just goes to show you that God has mercy on the foolish things in this world.

i love you ollie.

8/31

aka Francesca "French[ie]" Pham

simply one of the greatest, most down to earth, amazingly humble, funny, sweet, corny, best friends (who's a girl) that anyone could ask for. she was easily my best friend through most of high school (and probably is one of the only people that i think really knows me) and was always there for me whenever i needed someone to talk to about whatever was going on at the time, and she still continues to be a person who i admire and love (a favorite pastime was "new movie tuesdays" where we'd go to best buy on tuesday after school and pickup whatever the latest hotness was and watch it together). i can't say enough for her hard work, great attitude, and joyful spirit as she's gone through so much and grown so much. and for my 18th bday, she gave me a poster board with pictures of us&friends and notes inside of cards she made from construction paper, which made it easily one of the best presents everrr due to the immense amount of time, detail, and love it was created with. when i think of her, she is the definition of what a friend is, someone who is always there for you through everything and is perfect with timing on everything.

i love you frenchie.

7 of 31