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 Katrina,
The good thing about good friends is that they can come from virtually anywhere. Some are childhood friends. Others are brought together out of necessity or proximity, while still others are brought together by common interests or passions. However, some of the best friendships come virtually out of nowhere. We met fairly randomly online years ago. It wasn’t even a site for people of similar interests.
Immediately upon meeting you I realized you had a kind spirit. This is something that has proved to be true over and over again over the past 4+ years. You’re good to people, and you make people want to be good to you as well. You have such a nurturing nature to you, which is why it did not surprise me at all to find out that you work with small children. You have the perfect personality to positively impact them and set them on the right path at a very early age.
As time progressed, we realized we have a decent amount in common, most notably a love for the NFL and quality pop punk music (not to mention Randy Orton action figures haha). It’s always been nice to have a friend with whom I can share these interests. You’ve introduced me to bands and songs that I probably would not have discovered otherwise, and I’d like to think that I’ve done the same for you. Plus it’s always great to have a friend who is also a fan of The Graduate! But someday when I get old and look back on our friendship, that’s not going to be what I remember most.
Without fail, you have always had the ability to not only make me feel better about myself but also to feel better about whatever the situation is that I’m going through. I can think of countless times when I was in the midst of a bad day or a particularly trying period and you sent me a nice text message to help me feel better. You’ve always had an ability to know just what to say to make me believe in myself and believe that things can and will get better. I don’t know that I’ve thanked you enough for that, but it’s been easier for me to believe in myself because I know that you’re out there believing in me as well.
It still both amazes and amuses me that despite only living one state apart, our paths have never crossed in person. One day, I hope we wind up at the same concert. I wish you’d come down to Tinley to see Warped this summer with me! No matter when we meet (and yes, it’s a “when”, not an “if”), I look forward to it. I look forward to thanking you for being one of the most positive parts of my life the past 4 years, a silver lining during a time where my life was filled with clouds. Thank you for everything. Above all, thanks for being my friend.
Love always,
Jakob
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