My beloved friends

Friends that I hold most dear,

Life has really put a bit of distance and separation in our path to each other, hasn’t it? I just want you to know, I still think about you a lot. I wonder how you’re doing and I hope you’re well. Whether you’re in another state, across state, or in the same dang town, I haven’t stopped caring about your life.

Crazy what just a few years can do, right? Life happens. It really seems like it’s getting faster every day too. I’m sitting here writing to you, and some (probably most) of you won’t even read this, but that’s okay. It’s out there and maybe you’ll stumble across my words on a day when you need to know somebody cares.

I remember trash can conversations in the cafeteria in high school. You guys ever wonder why we thought that was so cool? What a diverse group of kids we were, though. I miss all of your different personalities and the dynamics we used to contribute to the conversation. Side note: flaming tennis balls was really never a smart game to play. I hope “Youth” (as we called it) did as much for you as it did for me. I was able to freely follow Jesus, develop friendships in a way I never had, and ask some critical questions that were a task to tackle on my own. But, you were there every step of the way. We did life together and I will never forget the person that you helped me grow into. Thank you all from the bottom of my heart.

College roomies, we had some fun. Jeesh, we really had too many nights staying up until 6am playing video games, making music videos, and ranting on a web cam about how girls just always make dumb decisions when it comes to dating guys. We knew it all though, right? We also made a great video for our English project that we aced because it was student-graded and we passed out candy to the class. Those microwaveable chicken patties were really gross now that I think about it. I love you guys and I hope you’re doing well. Thanks for helping me grow as a person as I continued striving for adulthood.

Friends, I’ve also been in quite a few of your weddings, and I remember them all very well. I remember being right next to you grooms as I watched you guys on that day. You married the girl that meant the most to you in the world. I could see the conviction in all of your eyes. You were all ready to take the next step and be responsible for something that was bigger than you, for the first time in your life. Through watching you guys I learned a lot. I learned what it takes to marry the girl of your dreams. I remember thinking at each one, “man, I don’t think I’m ready for this yet”. I held so much respect for each of you. You guys are a big part of why I’m ready to take that step. Thank you all so much for helping me develop into a man that has the confidence to lead the girl of his dreams down the isle this year.

You’ve all been such a huge part of my life and I am forever thankful to God that he’s allowed me the privilege of knowing you. As life continues progressing, I realize that I might not see you as much as I would like. We probably won’t have the chance to just drive around Pigeon listening to Mike Jones anymore. Who? We also probably won’t have the chance to randomly go swimming in the lake at 2am because the waves are huge. I don’t know if we’ll be able to have random jam sessions, or play guitar hero like we used to. I’m not sure if we’ll be able to just hit the gym whenever and work on that bench press. The days of 5th quarter, Winter/Summer Jam, Youth, The Frame, random road trips, all-nighters, grocery shopping at 2am, going to class at 7pm in our sweats, looking for fields to goose hunt, raging while playing COD, dunking basketballs in the living room, making taco flips and much, much more, may be gone. None of it is forgotten, though.

New chapters mean change, but they also mean that we have to keep our eyes forward. I’m sure that you all have experienced new friendships through each of your respective journeys that have made life more fruitful and have helped form you into the person you are today. It’s fun to look back and I certainly enjoy remembering the person you helped me become. What’s difficult is knowing that I have to keep growing, changing, and evolving into the man that God created me to be. This means that I have to let some of it go. I have to realize that life will continue transforming my priorities and someday, hopefully, I’ll be able to lead my own family and be the man that they need me to be. However, I better not get ahead of myself. For now, I’ll focus on the road before me. Thank you, friends. I love you all and although I don’t see or talk to some of you very often, just know that I’m still thinking of you and praying for you. I am always a phone call away if you ever need an ear.

Until next time,

Eric

If you enjoyed this article, please recommend it by hitting the green heart that you’ll find at the bottom of this page so that more people can see it on medium. You can also follow my twitter. I really appreciate it!