paper rachel

I mentioned in this post that I would have to tell the story of the first Paper Rachel.

It was one of the first days of May 2008—just about a week before my junior year of college ended. (I can’t believe this is already 5 years ago…)

I got a package at the university mailroom from my boyfriend, Steve. We had been dating for nine months, all long-distance from Chicago to Erie PA. I remember tearing open the package in the living room of the apartment I shared with four of my best friends.

And this was it:

Jumping into the album:

“One day, Paper Rachel packed her black and blue medical freebie bag, and showed up in Erie PA to visit.

Her boyfriend Steve was really happy to see her! Steve decided that he would show Paper Rachel a part of what a typical day would be like at Gannon University…

The first thing Steve and Paper Rachel decided to do was to go to visit the extravaganza that is the Erie mall. Rachel was the epitome of safety as she made sure to buckle her seatbelt.

Once at the mall, they paused for a photo-op, and then decided to go visit the craft store.

Paper Rachel found plenty of things to look at—including the expansive scrapbooking section.

They had a LOT of crazy-looking scrapbooking tools…

While Paper Rachel spent time in the crafts department,

Steve spent his time as constructively as possible…

…until he found the model cars!

Look out, Steve, Paper Rachel may not like the attention you’re giving that Saleen S281 Speedster…

We’re not exactly sure what Paper Rachel did with that X-ACTO knife…but Steve never saw the Saleen Speedster again…

Steve must have spent too much time looking at the model cars, because when he got back to the van, he couldn’t find Paper Rachel anywhere!

Where could she possibly be?

Oh no!? Hopefully no one threw her into the trash?

Steve looked everywhere!!!

Oh, wait!—Could that be her?

It IS!! But wait… what’s she doing over by David’s Bridal?

Steve couldn’t figure out why she was there…

…he was just happy to find her. Oh, Steve…

When they got back to Gannon, they changed, and signed some waivers to participate in Gannon’s Annual Springtopia festivities!

They’ve got their wristbands—looks like they’re all set!

Paper Rachel got really close to the giant inflatable games—she took up a position right between the Frisbee and soccer sections.

She had a lot of fun, even though she wasn’t sure why you needed a waiver to play inflatable Frisbee…

They had to get back to their rooms and get ready for dinner because Rachel was going to be Steve’s date to the Honor’s Banquet.

Steve wore his other blue dress shirt so that they could match. It’s not every day that he gets to eat dinner with a beautiful girl.

They served some really good chocolate mousse dessert.

Rachel tanked hers with no problem.

Then she tried to steal all of the artificial sweeteners.

Steve gave her one of those looks.

On their way home from the banquet, Ian tried hitting on Paper Rachel.

Steve didn’t take it very well.

So Steve decided to tell Ian that Paper Rachel was his girl—Ian got the point. This is also the only known photographic evidence of Ian EVER losing any kind of physical confrontation.

After the confrontation, they found solace in each others’ arms. Hmm…we’re not exactly sure who’s comforting who here… oh well.

Eventually, Paper Rachel and Steve decided to go spend some time at the Rec.

Rachel was stylin’ as she was all decked out in Gannon gear.

They considered playing raquetball.

They they walked for a while on the track…

…and then randomly decided to finish up by boxing. Steve had to convince Paper Rachel, as she wasn’t too keen on the idea.

But as it turned out—they didn’t box for long because Paper Rachel kept knocking Steve out.

Steve was on duty that night, so Paper Rachel got all dressed up in her RA duds—complete with Gannon issue radio.

They found a couch that had been broken in one of the lounges…

Freshmen!—what’s an RA to do?

Duty partners for a night. How come Steve never smiles in these pictures?

They were going to call it a night, but right as they were going to turn in, they went on a Sheetz run!!

For those who don’t know, Sheetz is basically a Mecca for people who want food after midnight.

Once they got there, Paper Rachel ordered some coffee…

…and played Hide-and-Go-Seek behind some Sheetz Cappuccino. Being made out of paper lets you do that.

When they got back from the Sheetz run, Steve turned to Paper Rachel with one thought on his mind: the only thing any red-blooded American boy could have on his mind.

GUITAR HERO!!

Steve challenged Paper Rachel to a Guitar Hero battle to end the evening—Paper Rachel crushed him. She’s got mad handle on all things Guitar Hero.

Was Steve upset about being beaten? His eyes are red again.

Nope! He was just happy that Paper Rachel could come and visit!!”

Can you believe that he did that all for me?
Can you picture him sitting in his dorm room cutting out all the intricate pieces of my outfits (he tried making clothes that I actually had at the time) and the tiny guitar?
And asking his friends to take photos of him all over campus with his little paper girlfriend?
Do you wonder at all why I married him? ; )

By the way, I remember being ECSTATIC when I read that Paper Rachel was hanging out at David’s Bridal. That was by far my favorite part of the entire book.