You are the Story I Tell: E~! & Matt

I truly believe that the greatest gift that you can give to another person is to genuinely let them know that who they are and what they do matters. It has been my goal in 2014 to become a more thoughtful person. A string of deaths to some individuals who positively affected my life led me to conceive this series. As the words to my favorite song go, “And for those who have stood by my side, you are the story I tell.” You are the words and pages to my story.

Over the course of the next several months, I will be writing open letters to those who have positively impacted my story. I’m not going to lie. It is my goal to make you cry, not out of grief or pain but out of the realization that you do truly matter. I am not doing this in order of how important you are to me. For the most part (other than birthdays or other important events), the letters will be done in a random order. I hope you enjoy, and I hope you come away from this with the realization that you are extremely important to me.

Dear E~! and Matt,

Usually when you have friends who are a couple, you tend to like one over the other. It’s not always a conscious thing, but if you find that that couple in a fight, you’re inclined to take a side. That’s usually just how things go. That’s not the case with the two of you. I met you two at different points, but you have both become very important to me each in your own ways.

I’d like to think that I indirectly had a hand in you two getting together. After all, if it weren’t for Buttons vomiting under my bed and me having to take my entire room apart, I might not have been cranky enough to kick Matt right away! You can thank me later.

Erika, we met through Bre. Initially, we didn’t talk a lot until I made a WWE reference. At that point, we hit it off and became close. In fact, I’d go so far as to say that you became my closest Stickam friend. We’ve talked about anything and everything, from the superficial to the absurd, and I can’t recall one fight that we ever got into. You've put up with me even when I've been at my most whiny, my most emo, and my most ridiculous,

I’ve known you for over four years now, and we probably have at least 50 mutual friends or acquaintances, and never once have I heard anyone say anything bad about you. That’s incredible, and that speaks to the quality of person that you are. I don’t know what your plans are for the future, but I think you could make a great career out of working hospitality. Your way with people and making them feel comfortable is something that can't be taught.

Matt, it took a little while to get on the right foot after my short temper and itchy finger kicked you out of the live. But you never really held that against me, and I appreciate that. After we talked more, I realized that you were someone who “got” me because we think and act similarly in many regards. You’re like my friend Ken that way. You’ve always been a great listener and full of good advice and encouragement for when I need it.

I met you both at a time I didn’t feel all that good about myself. I wasn’t where I wanted to be physically, mentally, emotionally, or socially. I needed an escape. You guys provided that escape. Every time I went into your live, I felt like I belonged. I felt like I mattered. I felt like I was in the company of people who were on that journey to where they wanted to be but weren’t quite there yet, either. The fact that there were other people out there like me kept me going, and the fact that you guys found love in a rather unlikely way encouraged me to stay hopeful that love would find me similarly.

Stickam went away early last year, but our friendships never did. I am thankful for you both. I’m thankful that you guys have been there for me, believed in me, and put up with me even when I was difficult. I look forward to making it out to South Carolina to see you someday. Thanks for always understanding me.

All the best,
J~!