Brandon and I began talking around October of 2001. I remember when he got his grades in December, he was a little disappointed. He called me on my cell phone and happened to mention it:

Brandon: So I got my grades for the semester.

Wendy: Yeah? How'd you do?

Brandon: Um, not as well as I wanted to. I think talking to you all the time may have had something to do with it.

Wendy: Nah, that can't be right. What did you get?

Brandon: Well, A's, and a D.

Wendy: Omigosh, I'm so sorry! Yeah, we definitely need to be careful about talking too much. Is it going to really affect your GPA?

Brandon: Huh?

Wendy: You said you got a D.

Brandon: No, a B.

Wendy: Well what are you whining about? Crazy person.

That was around the time I realized just how serious Brandon was about school. I've developed a similar attitude now that I pay for my classes and work at the same time. I guess that responsibility stuff really does change things.