My best friend from high school was getting married. She is a mormon. She insisted that her three best friends from home come to her wedding at the temple in Salt Lake City, Utah. She also wanted us to wear matching dresses, and they had to fit her criteria: knee-length, covering your shoulders and navy blue. Okay. So the hunt was on. Luckily the four of us had been best friends for some time, and we are all the same exact build.

Problem 1: None of us could get together in the three-week period from when she got engaged until we ended up together at some airport in Arizona. Yes, it was the school year, and none of us go to school in the same state. Miss “I’m-getting-married” was on winter break. We ended up giving up and being a seamstress, I made three navy-blue, shoulder-covering, knee-length dresses. We also could not afford plane tickets.

Luckily the bride’s dad was a pilot. So the wedding was a week away, and Miss “I’m-getting-married” stopped giving us information and stopped talking to us altogether.

Problem 2: We didn’t know where we were going or how we were getting to this unknown place, or if she even still wanted us to be there. We went on, the three of us trying to decide what to do, talking to our parents and each other. So the day came, Em had gotten an early fight via the pilot father, the other two had to try to get out of the one airport on one ticket. So instead of packing bags, we dressed up in professional outfits and walked through the airports like the other flight attendants. We made it in, and on the flight to Arizona as standby passengers with one ticket.

When we arrived, our next flight had already departed with Em. Manda and I got stuck, unable to make it to the rehearsal dinner. We made it to the airport in Salt Lake City on the next flight. Along the way, I found out another one of my cousins was getting married in Salt Lake City that same weekend. So we attempted to go to her bachelorette party instead of the rehearsal dinner. We never made it. We had no money and were forced to walk what we thought was a half mile but ended up being more like five miles. Along some back alley, we got picked up by Em and the bride’s little brother. We got to the hotel, saw Miss “I’m-getting-married,” gave her presents and chatted until we fell asleep. The next morning we met all the members of her family and his family, along with Mr. “I’m-getting-married,” for the first time.

The bride looked amazing and had a beautiful gown. Pictures were taken, and the three of us were back on the road to get back to the eastern part of the U.S. for classes. So the pilot took the three of us to the airport and got us a trip home, or at least to Las Vegas. Not so bad.

Problem 3: None of us were 21 and for once, we knew no one in the area to house us for a night, and we had $8 between the three of us.

But the luck turned, and I met a nice older man on the flight, who was from Vermont, and we had a nice long conversation about where we were going and the sticky situation we were in with flights. We talked about books and skiing. When the plane landed, the nice man stood up and pulled out a roll of $100 bills and handed me one. Now, I knew I needed this more than him. we had not eaten in a day and couldn’t afford airport food. I told him I did not need it, to be nice, but I was desperate. I knew it could feed all three of us.

So I ended up taking it, without telling them what had happened, we got off the flight and checked the status of our next flight, which we all three had a slim chance of getting on. We were trying to find other final destinations. Once all arrangements were made, we sat down, and I explained to the girls what had happened. During the waiting period before our next flight, we ate a nice dinner, courtesy of my new friend. We made the next flight, all back to the same final destination, and had Manda’s boyfriend pick us up at the airport. Although this may have been the most hectic 24 hour or less period of my life, at that point I realized I had 3 best friends that would do anything for me, and I for them.