Recently, I was sitting at home with the knowledge that a few of my friends were all traveling to a city about 5 hours away together and reflecting on all of the events they were about to experience. You see, the last two years of my life, I was traveling with them. I was creating memories that would last a lifetime, even if I didn't know it. It was a bitter-sweet moment to realize they would be making memories together and I would just get to hear about them instead of experiencing them, but I couldn't be more excited for them.

There are many times in this life when we are able to sit down and look back on our past. All of these different memories were created because we were doing something that stuck out in our brains. Although we experience many daily activities, the ones that stick out to us (or maybe just me) the most are the ones we experienced with those we love. These memories have allowed me to come up with the greatest excuse that ever did exist, because... fellowship.

Fellowship can be defined as a friendly relationship or companionship (pretty lame definition... I know). I define fellowship as taking time out of your own day for another person, even if you are just figuring out how they are different from everyone else. To me, and maybe others, a fellowship is one of the most important things in life. Fellowship is getting to know someone in the 5 minutes between class. Fellowship is staying in the cafeteria for 2+ hours just to eat with every single person you know that goes there (yes, I did that). Fellowship is staying up late even when you have to work in the morning (because who cares about sleep). Fellowship is doing crazy acts just to have an ounce of fun or 5 car loads of fun. Fellowship is being inconvenienced just to create a relationship.

Imagine, for just a second, that you met a girl a single night ago. You barely know her, but you see her on the way to class (not stalker-like at all). You stop and say hi because it's the nice thing to do. Then you start talking about how her day went. This conversation leads into a discussion about her major and the classes she's taking and little does she know, you are about to be late to class. Do you keep talking to her for a little while, or do you stop, cut her off, and go to class?

This was never an issue for me (probably the real problem). The answer was always obvious. It wasn't about whether I was going to stay or I was going to go, it was always about how long can I stay? How late can I be to class (or should I just miss class altogether)? Is it going to be acceptable for me to miss the ____ amount of time that I'm going to miss? These questions came about because my favorite excuse was fellowship.

Learning that fellowship is important came easy to me. It showed itself to me. When taking 5 minutes out of my own day was nothing compared to the relationship that was built from those 5 minutes, I instantly stopped caring about the consequences of fellowship.

Let me tell you a story:

There once was a girl, her name was Jessica. Now Jessica and I were freshmen in college in 2012 (I know that means I'm old, don't do the math). As we started school at Trine University, there were so many different events to attend. One of these events was called the Root Beer Kegger hosted by Christian Campus House. This happens to be where Jessica and I first made contact. At the Kegger, we discovered that we lived in the same building. After it was over, we decided to make the 8-minute treck back to our building together. These 8 minutes weren't long at all, but we were able to talk and discover different aspects of each other's personality during them.

8 minutes. That's all it took.

Those 8 minutes have flourished over time and allowed me to have the privilege to be a bridesmaid in here wedding soon.

No, not every 8-minute talk will lead to an invitation for you to be in someone's wedding and not every 8 minutes will be that easy, but that's not the point of the story. The point of the story is to show the world that you don't have a clue where fellowship can take you. Fellowship can lead to marriage, lifelong friendships, a partner in crime (not an actual crime I hope), helping the hurt, mentorship, an acquaintance, important moments, and memories.

I encourage you, take risks, meet new people, love every moment you get to spend with someone, and remember fellowship is the greatest excuse. And the next time your boss asks you why you're late, simply state, "because... fellowship."