It is a very American thing to be constantly obsessed with your own betterment. Self-help and how much space it takes up at Barnes and Noble attests to this. It is rare, even in America, however, to find a person who really does take pains to improve in real life. This is Heather. She is a "Make It Happen" kind of girl. She dives readily and deeply. She lives like tomorrow might not come but she plans like there are enough tomorrows to fill up two lifetimes. I admire her so much.
I met Heather one summer Sunday in Austin about three years ago. We were at church. I introduced myself and before we knew it we were laughing a lot for reasons I can't quite remember. She was in Austin for an internship at Dell. She was an MBA student at BYU. We got to know each other pretty fast. We had dinner parties and went swimming and talked a lot about the perplexities of life. It was a fun summer. I'll never forget the project we worked on for a Dell competition among the interns. The task was to create a recruiting video for prospective interns. Heather enlisted my help right away. Doing little else than sitting by the pool reading, I was eager to assist in a creative project. So I began brainstorming. I felt like a mocumentary was ideal. I wrote some really funny stuff but the real magic happened right on film. It started with a monologue by me. I was pretending to do something important on my computer in my cubicle, all staged obviously as I don't work at Dell, and then I suddenly turn around and engage my audience with, "Oh! Hello! I am Kristin Ferrell. You may remember me from my acclaimed documentary Up Your Gas, a discussion on energy supplements." We went on from there interviewing people without any preparation, asking them silly questions like, "iphone. Your thoughts?" and, "Where do you see Dell in five years?" as I play with the very handsome intern's hair in a flirty manner and then ask him, "Do you like poetry?" He said no. So inappropriate. So great. Quick transition to me doing yoga in the courtyard, holding a pose, falling. We decided to interview a young, white male on the topic of diversity. I called him Rob, even though his name was Matt. I made him hold a little, blue flag that said "Dell! Diversity Champions!" SO funny. Anyway, great little film, I must say. I'll try and post it if I can manage it.
Since then, Heather and I have had many adventures. She is a great hostess and has thrown some really lovely parties and had many wonderful gatherings. I live in her home now and it is so peaceful and wonderful here. Beyond the beauty, the intelligence, and the adventurous spirit she is genuinely good. Her goodness makes me feel happy and safe. She is still making stuff happen: eating clean, which we're doing together (it's a lifestyle, not a diet), making improvements on her house, doing yoga, shaking things up at Dell, and all the while finding time to be a great friend, a patient listener, and just a fun person to hang out with. I am excited about Heather's future and I am just grateful to be here seeing it unfold. Heather, thank you for inspiring me. I love you.
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