Lauren Martin - “Dear Best Friend” [Bella Luetkenhaus

Dear Best Friend,

By J1 Reporter Lauren Martin

Although not actually related by blood, Bella Luetkenhaus has been more than a sister figure to me ever since our Saint Vincent de Paul Grade School days. She is a current Marian junior who is graduating in 2023, and she will always be my biggest inspiration.

She puts the fun in everything. Luetkenhaus can take any situation and turn it into a memory that will forever be remembered. She’s that one person that I can look at in a room full of people, and we would both understand exactly what “the look” is implying.

We have gone to school together our whole lives, have worked together at both jobs we have had, go on vacations together, go to concerts together, go to summer camp together, share a birthday together— both obviously being an Aquarius, and, overall, do everything together.

A typical day in Luetkenhaus’ life consists of: “I wake up, get a maple vanilla latte blended at Scooters, then chill in Lauren’s car until it’s time for school. After school, I usually head to my shift at TCBY.”

She is inspiring in every way from her easy going personality to her work ethic at her jobs and at school.

Luetkenhaus has no problem explaining her favorite thing about TCBY, “I really like the people that I work with and the environment where I can learn more about how the real world works. I’ve met some of my best friends, and it is always such a fun time. I also love the pistachio soft serve yogurt, so that’s a plus!”

Speaking of favorites, Luetkenhaus has many. “One of my favorite meals to have for dinner is buttery noodles and my favorite place to go out to eat is Kobe Steakhouse. I like winding down to “American Horror Story,” playing with my dogs Rocco and Carlos, a shih tzu and a pug poodle mix, and feeding my hamster D’coldest. I got this name from a game I play called My Boo.”

Everyone needs a person in their lives who inspires them to be a better person and that’s what Luetkenhaus is to me. The way she’s always trying new things and making each and every situation more fun is exactly what I look for in a best friend.

Luetkenhaus says one of the things that makes her happiest is, “when you go outside and it’s green.” She has always had a love for animals, bugs, and all creation. Knowing this, Luetkenhaus wants to go into entomology at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. We plan on rooming together and have already started looking at dorm decor.

Right now, if she could travel anywhere in the world, she says, “I would live in Hawaii. I went there with my mom over spring break and I am absolutely in love with the green scenery. Everyone is so friendly and welcoming.”

Luetkenhaus says, “I love decorating and doing art in my free time.” She enjoys “pretty much everything about decorating, and I do it all the time.” She decorates everything from her room to her car. “I do happen to have a moss zen garden, three sun catchers, squishmallows, and crystals in my car.”—Love the greenery!

She has a bumper sticker that says, “I brake for critters.” She says, “One time while we were driving home from the lake around midnight, we saw a baby opossum with its eyeball popping out and blood dripping everywhere. It was a bloodbath fosho and I will never forget this moment. This also corresponds with my love for critters just like my desired major.” And yes, we do have matching “Honk for a TBH” bumper stickers.

Her favorite class is social problems because, “It is always interesting and really draws my attention. It makes me excited to learn.” She also says she likes to “adventure to places in the area that I have never seen before.”

When conversing about celebrity crushes and about who inspires her, she said, “I LOVE Ross Lynch because we’re going to his concert and I like his music. Die hard fan right here!”

In her personal life, her grandpa is the most inspiring person to her because he, “approaches everything in a kind manner and truly cares about my family.”

Luetkenhaus really enjoys astrology, crystals, angel numbers, and spirituality. As an Aquarius, she says, “When people try causing problems, I just keep to myself.” This is another trait of hers that I adore. The biggest challenge she’s faced is toxic friendships and losing people. This is when she becomes independent and this is another reason why the two of us get along so well. Our shared astrology sign is very important to us and played a role in how we became best friends.

Luetkenhaus and I went to Camp Foster this summer, and she says, “Camp

was the best time of my life. I kept seeing the number 222 everywhere at camp and saw a post that said the number 222 means you’re in the right place at the right time.”

Going along the spiritual and camp theme, something she has experienced is, “My first year at camp, age 11, in Navajo cabin, I found out years later that I was in the so-called ‘haunted bunk.’ Going back to the perspective of 11-year-old me, one night after lights out, I suddenly woke up and couldn’t fall back asleep. I looked out my window and locked eyes with a row of children wearing wooden masks for several minutes. I thought another cabin was pranking us, so I decided to go back to sleep.”

“The next morning, I asked my counselor which cabin had pranked us and she said no one did.”

“Back in the present time, last year on our haunted hike, which is for 16-year-olds, the owner of the camp told a ghost story saying that exact thing had happened to someone in that same bunk. At that moment, Lauren and I looked at each other and remembered the story I had told years prior that only the two of us know about.”

We experience key moments in our lives together which has grown us closer and is why Bella Luetkenhaus will always be my best friend. Bella Luetkenhaus and Lauren Martin after Homecoming rocking their favorite color!

Bella Luetkenhaus’ lucky number from Camp Foster: In the right place at the right time.