In Good Company

Being back home, I have come to realize how much this place means to me. That phrase of "there is nothing like home" is right on the money. Tonight, a handful of my favorite people met to celebrate the birthday of one of the greatest friends a person could ask for. There is something about the feeling a person gets when they are in a familiar place or in the presence of familiar people. I have met a lot of people in my lifetime and I'm going to meet a lot more, but spending time with those people who you grew up with or with whom you've graduated with holds a little more weight. Of course, there are a select group of people in my life that I happened to meet over the course of one weekend and I fell in love with them immediately and those individuals know exactly who they are. It just goes to show the impact people can have on my life and the impact I can hopefully have on theirs.

And then, it started to make me wonder what would my life be like without those that I love around me? Would I be happy or fulfilled with my life? Of course, the obvious answer is absolutely not. Those people that I love and that love me make my life worth living. However, there are individuals within this world who are under the illusion of believing that no one loves them or that they have no one to turn to. It is these people I worry about and these people that I wonder how they will feel the fulfillment I feel at this moment and every moment I think about those people I love. So, what do I do? I can't grant every person devoid of fulfillment a group of individuals who love them. But, I can continue to befriend every person who comes across my path and allow them to see the importance of friendship.

One of my favorite quotes of all time: "Turns out not where but who you're with that really matters." Personally, I don't think that quote needs any further explanation. It is those people in your life that make it what it is.

So, to all those amazing individuals who I have been lucky enough to have known and the pleasure of distinguishing them as a friend, thank you. You have made my life so much happier and so much easier to live in a world where most of the time hatred outweighs love, caring, and friendship. May God bless each and every one of you to continue to make difference in people's lives as you have made one in mine.