This was read at her law school memorial service...
Tara Baker I remember first meeting Tara during sorority rush. She was one of those girls that always just stood out in a crowd, always very poised and conversational. She seemed older than most of the girls, even though they were very close in age. Tara just had an aura about her that made her seem special. As soon as we met we became friends. Friends were held in a special place in Tara's heart. Once you were her friend, it didn't matter if she didn't see you for a weekend or a year; she acted like it was her happiest moment to be with you. We were roommates at Georgia College and grew to be extremely close friends. We had our little spats, of course, but after a few minutes we would act like nothing had happened and we would go run an erreand or just gossip about miniscule things like girls do. I don't know if we did this because we knew we were both sorry or if we were both just too hard headed to say "I'm sorry" first. We knew it and I guess that was all that mattered. You've all heard that it was Tara's dream to become a lawyer. Well, I remember going to a Chinese resturant with Tara one time and getting the traditional fortune cookie. Upon opening her cookie, Tara started laughing. Her fortune read "You would make a great lawyer." She was so pleased with the fortune that it hung on her bulletin board throughout her under grad years and then she put it in her scrapbook following graduation. She knew that becoming a lawyer was her fate in life. Tara also loved road trips. She and I really enjoyed our trips to Myrtle Beach where we stayed at her grandfather's condo. Looking back, I don't think we did anything that was particularly exciting, but we made it our great adventure with everything we did. We were determined to have a suntan by the time we got back to school from spring break. Most of our friends had gone to Panama City and had teased us about going north instead of south. It must have been 50 degrees out and we were the only people on the beach with bikinis on. We did, however, come back with a well-earned tan! I would have to say my favorite moments were when we would just sit and talk. It started when we lived at the ADPi sorority house and used to sit on the wooden rocking chairs. Tara was one of the best listeners AND talkers I have ever known. We used to sit outside on the front porch for hours at a time talking and rocking. We would have "Southern" discussions about what was proper and not proper. For example - it was not lady like to wear white until after Easter or how improper it was to wear open toed shoes! Tara also liked to talk politics. She was very active in the Georgia College SGA and was known for being one of the first to speak up on just about any issue. While she loved to keep up with current events, she also had another side that most people did not know about. I had to fight her for the remote control if a Braves game was on TV. She even had a Braves doll named Chipper that she would hold during games for luck. When we moved to Athens, we didn't have the time that we used to have to just talk, but, we always set aside a night or a weekend to do something together to catch up. We would watch an old movie or a Disney Classic on many of these occasions. Sometimes we would reminisce about our sorority days together when we lived in the house. We would mainly talk about the great times we had with old friends. Needless to say, our pick in movies did not attract a large audience. I can't even tell you how many times I've watched Bedknobs and Broomsticks or My Fair Lady. We would make a "chocolate run" or get a treat and just veg out in front of the TV. I probably know everything there is to know about Tara's genealogy! Tara was extremely proud of her past and present family. She was following in her mother's footsteps as an active member of the DAR. If you ever spoke with Tara for more than five minutes, the conversation would usually focus on her family or Chris, her boyfriend. Tara was different than most girls. She truly cared about how people felt. She would think about how an action would affect a person and try to carry it out in the most positive way. It didn't matter if she liked the person or not. When asked why she would act that way, she explained she was just "brought up that way." But then again, there were not too many people that Tara didn't like. She loved people and being around people. She was so excited about starting law school. Every day she would come home and tell me about all of the different people that she had met. I remember when she decided to run for an office. Even though she didn't win, she said many times that it was so much fun just meeting all of the people. I think that she did it partly because it gave her an excuse to talk to everybody. I also didn't mind because I had about a million brownies floating aroung the apartment. I, of course, claimed all of the burned ones. So one day Tara put a plate aside for me, which I don't believe had a burned one in the batch. Needless to say, I haven't had a brownie since! I think that our apartment smelled like chocolate for a week! I remember Tara as being one of the most intelligent people I have ever known. She would never brag about it and would deny it when anyone would tell her so. I remember one instance in college when we attended a party during midterms. I had already finished mine and when I informed Tara of the party, she was rearing to go. When we got in that night, quite late, Tara all of a sudden remembered that she had a midterm the next day that she had forgotten about. She had never forgotten so much as a small quiz before so she grabbed her books, opened them, then promptly shut them saying that it was too late and she would get up early the next morning to study. Well, the snooze went off a few times and she barely got to class on time. A few days after that, she came skipping up to the house. She happily informed me that she made a 98 on her midterm. That was just how Tara was. She could hear something once and know it. She always amazed me. Tara was also a great cook. However, this was not always the case. There was a time when we ate grilled cheese sandwiches and raman noodles every night for about a year. She was a vegetarian, so if we were to cook together, you could be sure that the dish didn't have meat in it. Except every once in a while we would go to Krystal. I told her if she ate a Krystal she would not be a true vegetarian. She said, "If you put enough ketchup on it you don't taste it." I had to get on to her about burning water a time or two, but when she finally made up her mind to learn to cook, she definately learned. You can imagine my shock of going from raman noodles to homemade casseroles and lasagna. She even had a special recipe for her potato salad and deviled eggs. We also used to have hodge podges where we raided our cabinets for anything edible and would throw it all together for a meal. For example, we would have green bean casserole, pea salad, and rice and would think that it was one of the greatest meals ever. I don't know how good it actually was, but we had so much fun throwing it together that it didn't matter. Tara was truly a special person. She was a dear friend to me and someone I could lean on in any time of need. Special friendships teach you lifetime lessons; things you must build upon to have a solid emotional foundation. I feel that it is important to accept the lesson, love the person, and put what you have learned to use in all other relationships and areas of your life. It has been said that love is blind but friendship is clairvoyant. Tara and I had a friendship that epitomized the essence of the word "friend." We've changed flat tires, roommates, and even boyfriends during the course of our time together. We've supported each other through a few sad times, but even more wonderful times. There are very few pictures in my scrapbooks that do no include Tara. Tara would be thrilled to know that so many people are expressing how much they care about her by being here today, all of whom she would call her friends. I thank God that He gave her to us for this short period of time. My friend Tara Baker will always be remembered.
