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It's @Mary_Buzbee's birthday, and I can't begin to explain how much joy she's brought to my life and the lives of everyone else lucky enough to be her friend. (Photo from the pre-covid days of NYE 2019.) A thread of appreciation:
Months before we became friends, Mary and I quasi-"met" in April 2019 when she used my @ThronesName Twitter bot to generate her Game of Thrones name. It dubbed her "Daralis Cockthief" and she liked it so much she made it her display name. 
In May, I noticed Mary tweeting about Alabama and DM'd to ask if she was from here. I had no idea until then we were right down the road from each other!
And then of course there was this iconic moment, when I got to meet both Mary and Bham-born ad queen @beckythehoff in December 2019
Soon Mary introduced me to her creative partner @lalalaurrennn, and we began meeting monthly-ish, even in quarantine to talk about work, life and navigating the weirdness of the ad industry. I've never met two people more passionate not only to learn but to help others.
Speaking of learning, I can't skip this moment when I surprised Mary and Lauren on April Fool's Day by having Isaiah Mustafa, "the Old Spice Guy," drop into a zoom to offer his (incredibly earnest and thoughtful) career advice: https://www.adweek.com/creativity/for-april-fools-day-adweek-surprised-rising-ad-talents-with-unexpectedly-vip-zoom-calls/
But I can't talk about friendship with Mary without mentioning the sheer joy and energy she and Lauren bring to my texts and DMs on every platform.
And on a more serious note, I'll never stop thanking Mary for writing this piece on classism in advertising and sparking a vital conversation that I feel confident will end up changing this industry for the better: https://medium.com/@fellowcommunity/as-advertising-becomes-pay-to-play-creative-potential-is-wasted-267363870380
Mary, thank you for your friendship, kindness, joy and humanity. You are such a phenomenal human being, and I feel blessed every day to know you, much less to be your friend.
