Going into my first year at the University of Richmond, I knew that I would be meeting and interacting with international students as Richmond encourages and fosters great diversity. What I didn't realize, however, that one of these international students would become a close friend of mine.

Meet Louise Howorth, or "Lou" as I and most fellow Richmond students kindly refer to her as. She is from England and is, of course, revered on campus for her charming and sweet British accent. At first meeting, this is definitely something that will grab your attention and will make you want to listen to her talk endlessly. Being an Anglophile, I completely swooned over this for the first good while of our friendship because it was just too fun to listen to all she had to say. But what brought us close wasn't my enchantment with her nationality or voice inflection, but rather her story.

I chose to stay close to home to school for a variety of reasons, but primarily because Richmond was always my dream school. I didn't go far, far away, so my life didn't change in as many ways as some of my fellow classmates had. What I admire in Louise is her courage and persistence in engaging and embracing the American lifestyle. She is always willing and excited to try something new and wants to experience all that life has to offer here. I truly admire her tenacity and love to step out of her comfort zone and learn a new way of life.

As I got to know Lou better, I learned more and more about her life in England and Hong Kong, where she also lived recently. Not only was it eye-opening to learn about her previous experiences, but it also helped me to understand her as a person and a close friend. She is also on my Odyssey team and recently wrote of her journey to Richmond here.

I am truly blessed to call Lou one of my very best friends and also my sister. She certainly made a lasting impact on me and my experience at Richmond as a whole. Lou has fostered my understanding of the world as a whole and the importance and pleasure of making friends of different backgrounds. I love learning new things every time I'm around her, especially fun British words that always make me giggle. Lou, thank you for being an amazing friend and such a positive influence on my life. I can't wait for you to not be almost 4,000 miles away from me!