I met Shane the first day of my freshman year of high school. He was asleep on his desk in seminary. I was immediately attracted to him and wanted to be his friend. Sadly I don't think he felt that same initial spark. It wasn't to long before me and Shane became friends though. And before I knew it Shane was one of my best friends and would continue to be all throughout high school. We hung out all the time, talked on the phone late at night, and texted constantly.
Shane taught me how to be a little more carefree in life. He loved the lake and went with his family frequently. I was lucky enough to experience some of these trips with them. It was there that Shane patiently sat in the lake with me and taught me how to wakeboard. No matter how many times I fell or didn't listen to what he said, he'd swim the 10 ft to me, laugh, and start over. He was part of many of my firsts...
He was the one who convinced me to ditch school for the first time to go golfing instead. He called the office pretending to be my dad and then put me in the trunk of his car to sneak me out the front gates.
I was the baby of the group so everyone else turned 16 way before I did. As soon as Shane turned 16 though he told me he wanted to be the one to take me on my first date. He assured me for months that wouldn't let anyone else take me out and sure enough the day I turned 16 Shane showed up at my doorstep and took me out. I think Jonathon was supposed to come but something happened and he didn't so we went bowling with his sister and her husband. I would not have changed a thing, we had so much fun. The thing about Shane is that it didn't matter where you were or what you were doing he made everything a good time.
Shane and I also went to our first concert together. For one of his birthdays I bought us tickets to go see Fall Out Boy. He was my protective bubble the whole night, he didn't let anybody touch me. (We held hands for the first time that night :)) When we decided to leave Shane somehow convinced me to crowd surf to the very front. I dont what I was thinking when I allowed Shane and some nasty sweaty guy to throw me on top of a crowd of horny kids. Ha never again, it was a horrible idea.
And our junior year I remember waking up to 5 texts from Shane asking if I'd left for school yet, and than telling me to look at the marquee board at school. And on the way to school I got at least 2 more telling me don't forget to look!! As soon as I saw it my heart stopped. Shane had asked me to prom and I was so excited! When everyone found out, I had a thousand girls come up to me telling me how lucky I was to be going with Shane Smith. He was definitely a ladies man.
(Prom '06)
Him and Jonathon also had a 3 month toilet papering obsession. Every Saturday I would wake up and our front yard was covered in toilet paper. My parents got fed up and decided to plan an attack against them. One night they decided to wait outside for them. My mom was hidden under boxes in the back of my dads truck and my dad was patiently waiting on the side of our house. They both had hoses were ready to attack, they say they waited for about an hour before they gave in and went inside. So the next weekend me and my friend Katie decided to launch our own massive attack on his house. We had been stocking up on toilet paper for weeks and decided it was time. Shane was gone that night so Katie, me, my brother, my mom, her best friend Misty, and a clan of kids under 10 drove out to the Smiths house. We rocked his house, all the trees, the cactus, their boat, everything we could. It literally looked like it had snowed. The next day I went to Mexico so I didn't get to talk to Shane about it for a few days. After the trip as we were driving back into the country I turned my phone on and I saw that I had a voice mail. I went to check it knowing it was going to be Shane and assuming it was going to be him congratulating me on a job well done. It wasnt. It was Shane but he was mad. His message went something like, hey danni thanks for toilet papering my house. I had to clean it up and while I was on the latter I fell and broke my leg. Since its almost wakeboarding season I wont be able to wakeboard this summer. So uh thanks again I guess. And than he hung up. I felt AWFUL! I told my mom and we both just felt horrible. I didnt know what to do so I was gonna talk to him at school the next day to see what I could do. I had a little speech all prepared in my head, but as soon as I saw him I died. He was fine, and when he saw my face he knew he had won yet again.
The worst though was probably the infamous glue stick incident. Shane and Jonathon were the death of me in high school. In seminary one year they pinned me down and put glue stick on my lips like chap stick. How horrible right? But no matter what he did I couldn't stay mad at him for long, Shane was just to easy to love.
I was a nanny my senior year, and Shane would always come over to the house to hang out with me and the kids. The first thing he would do every time he came in was see what they had to eat, than he would help with homework and than play till he left. The kids adored him, and still every time I see them they ask for me to bring Shane over to play.
Me and Shane had our share of ups and downs in high school. I recently reread my old journals, every other page there is something about Shane. It was always either talking about how much I liked him or how I was mad at him. I think its definitely safe to say that I picked every single fight we ever got in. But no matter what the situation was Shane would always squeeze his way back into my life.
I remember when he called me while I was at school to tell me he sent in his mission papers. I was never more proud and excited for him than I was that day. He was so excited to serve and I remember him telling me he was hoping to go to Brazil because "they had the best places to hang glide." He called me the day he got his call and I rushed to his house so I could hear him open it. (You can see that post here) The spirit was so strong and I knew that Shane's mission was where he was supposed to be.
Shane served an honorable mission in Guatemala. I came to his homecoming and got to hang out with him a little at his house. The first thing he showed me was his new hang glider. (Shane and his dad were avid hang gliders before his mission and Shane literally could not wait to do it again when he got home.) After that we rode bikes up and down his driveway talking about the last two years, catching each other up in our lives. I remember asking Shane what his next step in life would be. He told me he wanted to start his family. He was so excited for it and said he couldn't wait to finally have his son, Dude Clarence Smith.
Although his life was short, I do believe Shane's mission in life was completed. And I don't think he would have chosen a different way to go out. Shane was doing something he loved and always told me he wanted to die doing something crazy.
I feel so blessed that Shane was such a huge part of my life. I feel like some of my best characteristics came from knowing him. He was such a good example to me and Ill cherish all of our memories forever.
I will always love Shane and he will continue to hold a special place in my heart.
