Dear Vinny,

When I tell my other friends about you, they’re sort of amazed by the nature of our friendship, which goes back to what, like the summer after sophomore year?

And similarly, like I tell anyone who knows Sarah in college, I would/will say to your college friends,

“If only you knew what sort of a modest superstar Navin was back in high school.”

You’re that friend from debate that I’ve managed to not only stay friends with in college, but if anything, college gave us an opportunity to hang out and get to know each other more.

We relate in all of those subtle-yet-pervasive ways that spring up when you move on from an activity like debate.

As in, you’re conflicted about staying in the community as a judge. You miss the national community and your team’s atmosphere. You miss the people, and you miss the arguments you used to advocate. You even miss little things, like the popularity of Gchat, the stolen summers at ~debate camp~ and the fervent nationalism of ACHM.

Navin, you are one of just a handful of people I still use Gchat to communicate with, and when we’re having a conversation, it feels as lively as it used to.

Last year, I wrote:

Like myself, he thrives in small group conversations. It takes a while to coax him out of his shell, but once you do, you will be glad you did. He has a hidden layer of craziness underneath, did you know?

Beyond this, he is one of the most easy going individuals I’ve ever encountered. Super go-with-the-flow, taking life as it comes.

I still totally agree with that, but over this past year, I think you’ve also really opened up as a person, and honest-to-god, you’re killing it.

Just a few of the highlights from this past year:

• that last day before spring break, when we bought sandwiches from Soulwich and took them to eat by the lakefill, but then they were super drippy and messy and it was still really cold and windy that day so it was a little frustrating and hilarious…and then we took picture-perfect pictures on the rocks

– that other day time that we hung out in my dorm and I think then we went downstairs to play a card game with the people in the Cockpit lounge??? I think it was the night before I had left for Atlanta for the summer, my last night as a freshman in Elder

• that AMAZINGLY splendid Evanston day (May 23) when we chilled on the rocks by the lakefill, listened to music and then had Indian food downtown. It was that day that we had that amazing realization about dandelions, about “what would childhood have been without dandelions? No wishes to make, seeds to watch float off, stalks to chew, little white specks to look for in a field?”
• that afternoon when you came over to my apartment and then we went grocery shopping together and then just laughed at each other over a dinner of leftovers and chicken sausage? (sorry)

However, even our dining hall dinners or our Norris meetups or our adventures around Evanston make any day better, really. You’re one of the few people I’ve met at college who really seem to like me for me, and as a result of that, I feel very comfortable around you.

Happy birthday,

Catty Z