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 Steve and Ginger,
You guys have never met one another. In all likelihood, you will never meet one another, as the only common band that you have is me. At this point you’re probably wondering why the two of you have a combined letter from me. You’ll just have to keep reading to find out!
None of our lives are ever perfect. Show me the man who says he has a perfect life, and I will show you a raging liar. However, some of us have lives that are more challenging than others. I like to believe that those of us who are challenged (whether physically, mentally, or emotionally) are those who have a greater amount of strength than anyone else. By that token, you two are two of the strongest people I’ve ever met.
Steve, we met nearly 10 years ago. If you hadn’t told me that you had medical difficulties, I would never have known. Your online persona did not portray someone in pain. Instead, you were cheerful, charismatic, and inspiring. The ACSB was made better by your presence. Despite everything that you have had to endure, you have kept fighting and kept your chin up. I know we don’t converse very often anymore, but even through your Facebook posts, I have never once felt like I saw a defeated man. I have seen a fighter. I see someone who has always given it his all and will continue to give it his all until he has nothing left to give.
Ginger, you were one of the many Stickam people I met during the summer of 2010. You were nice to me from the start, even though I could tell right away you had a sassy side. Like Steve, your persona does not match your condition. Even as your condition has gone up and down, your personality has mostly remained the same. I know some days you feel discouraged. You wouldn’t be human if you didn’t. But you always keep going. You’ve never shied from giving your opinion, whether it’s about your dislike for me having a beard or the way I go about things with girls. But you’re pretty much a human Sour Patch Kid. Once you get past the initial burst of sour, there’s a whole lot of sweetness!
I am eternally indebted to both of you for two things: your friendship and your inspiration. I never forget the people who treat me well. You two have treated me well for a long time. You’ve had no reason to do so, but you have. Just as importantly, I need you both to know how inspired I am by the both of you. Nobody is forcing you to keep fighting, yet you do it anyways. I fight harder because of you. If you two never give up, then I NEVER have an excuse to give up, either. I am so proud of the both of you, and you need to know how inspiring you both are. Keep fighting.
Love always,
Jakob
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