Stand by me
MANILA, Philippines - Since I don’t know how to start this out, I guess it’s best if I quote you from the eighth grade:
“When I die, I want to be remembered for doing my job, but not just doing my job. I would want to be remembered as someone who excelled at his job and was unrivaled in his efficiency and skill in completing his job. And because I was great at my job, I changed the world for the better and helped everyone around me. I guess I also just want to be remembered as someone who had everything that he needed, and no more. And the people who loved him would remember him, when he dies. He had a family and love. He died with a smile on his face.”
I hoped you’d see my response to this in the yearbook with my write-up, but since that isn’t going to happen, I feel it’s only right to do that now. Thank you, Liam, for showing me that opposites really do attract. Our constant bickering and debating was always something that I have enjoyed dearly and something that has enriched my personal knowledge. Thank you for reminding me that your closest friends will laugh at your burdens and misfortunes to remind you that one should not be bogged down by things that are intimidating at first, but trivial in the end. Thank you for reminding me that the best of friends are not the ones who merely stand by your side through all your trials but those who challenge you to become better along with those trials. We have spent so much time having an adventure together, my dear Samwise. No matter how many thank yous I put, it isn’t enough to express how efficient and unrivaled you are at your job, which is the greatest job of all. Being a friend. It is no meager feat to be able to deal with and eventually appreciate my eccentric, spirited, and sometimes humorously incompetent self.
Keep on being you for even if you see the many flaws that you bear, I only see the many strengths you use to slay such demons. There is a raging tempest inside my heart that cannot be quelled right now and the only solace that I can find is to tell myself that we’ll have a good laugh about this in another dream. We couldn’t finish our adventure together but it must go on. To answer the very last question you asked me, we will hang out but you have to wait a bit. Remembering the Shakespearean line that you and I love so much, “We are such stuff as dreams are made on, and our little life is rounded with sleep.” So wait for me to finish my role in this stage of dreams, in which we are all players. For the meantime, try and get some peace, but save some for the rest of us.
