Happy Birthday to two of my favorite people

Until a couple of years ago, I was the only person I knew who had anything to write down in the “alias” blank of various official documents that we so often sign, giving our lives to away to someone or something in fine print.  (Oh reader, you didn’t think my parents really named me “Kiki,” did you?)  That was until my friend Caitlin’s alter ego, Karen, surfaced.

I could not say for certain when or why Karen showed up, but I think her spirit was born around the time that Caitlin tried to convince a flight attendant to let her off a plane that had already boarded in Nassau, Bahamas and was shortly taking off for New York (see exhibit A below).

When asked by the flight attendant if she was okay and why she wanted to exit the plane, Caitlin said: “Oh yes, I am fine, I just don’t want to leave the Bahamas.”

After the flight attendant explained to Caitlin that because of security reasons, if she left the plane, airport staff would have to inspect all of the luggage onboard, delaying all the passengers who actually did want to leave the Bahamas (crazy people), she quietly took her seat.  My friend Jillian and I were enormously relieved.  One, because people sitting near us on the plane knew that the two of us were with Caitlin and had pieced together what she was up to.  (That would have made for an awkward flight.)  And two, because we had no idea what we would tell my parents when they came to pick us up at Kennedy airport and Caitlin wasn’t there.  But looking back on that day, I am most glad that Caitlin came back with us because if she had not, then Karen may never have risen to power in quite the same way that she did during the second semester of senior year.

So who exactly is Karen?  Karen is the name our friends coined for Caitlin’s alter ego.  Karen is funny without trying to be.  She likes to wear heels and straighten her hair.  She goes with the flow.  Sometimes she buys everyone she is with at 4 a.m. breakfast just because.  She likes vodka and themed parties.  She travels from Boston to New York to spend one night with her friends.  She stays up late.  She is always laughing.  She believes in the why not motto.  She loves to talk and is at ease making friends with strangers.  And she was often the talk of the parties held at the infamous 22 College Street house at Colgate, which became Karen’s beloved second home the spring of her senior year.  She is a funny dancer and a great friend.

But as much crap as we give Caitlin on Sunday mornings for Karen’s adventures the night before, the truth is that the alias doesn’t fall from the tree.  And in this case, that is a good thing.  Sure, Caitlin probably makes a more organized co-worker and a more diligent student than Karen—but I see a lot of Caitlin in Karen and vise versa.  When it comes down to it, they both have bad jokes and stunning blue eyes and they both go out of their way to be nice and make other people happy.  And at the end of the day, I feel lucky to call both my friends.

Happy Birthday to Caitlin/Karen, two of the best people I know.