Amigos (Friends): Where the Sidewalk Ends, and New Roads Begin (or the See Yah Later Post)

Friendships are priceless. No one can put a price tag on friendship. To do so would be to sell one's self short of the happiness a genuine friendship can provide at the incredibly low cost of one's love and appreciation....

This week has been an exceptionally hard week for me. I've had to say goodbye to friends, old and new, in such a short span of time. And even with the allotted amount of time that this busy Summer has given me, I didn't get the chance to say goodbye to everyone.

My good middle school friends, Austin and Boa.

I believe that the people one surrounds his/her/their self with are key to defining the kind of person one is. But if that's the case, then, oh boy, do I have a personality disorder. I have developed groups of friends so varied in character, it is hard to  believe they tell the same story: the story of me. Friendships vary from birth to now, but there are no two people whom I call my friends that are alike.

To me, that is the unique, incredible, and miraculous part about my friends: no matter how different they all are, they all contribute to how I have grown as a person in someway. I embrace difference: quirky, wild, passionate, stubborn, outspoken, recluse, innovative, clever, you name it, there's a someone who matches a different descriptor. I've had the pleasure of getting to know so many wonderful human beings who, I know, can amount to so much.

But where does the time go?

Like I said, it's been the hardest week so far. How do you say goodbye to so many people whom you have come to love so whole-heartedly, whom you admire, and who will go out on their own path? Simple. Well, the process is easier said then done, but the idea behind the process isn't too hard to grasp.

These guys have really helped me live. Thanks for the memories.

First, you understand that this is not really a goodbye, only "see yah later," and when you do see them again, you'll cherish that time even more. (Sorry that you had to hear that for the billionth and first time.) Goodbye has such a casual ubiquity about it. Everyone says it, and yet nobody means it. Which is great, but "see yah later" just sounds a lot sooner than "goodbye."

The irreplaceable Upward Bound Crew.

Second, you appreciate what everyone has taught you. My friends have expanded my world views, shown me new ways to look at situations, taught me how to love someone or a group of people, and most importantly how to love myself. These are lessons that no classes at any university, college, or community college can teach us. What a valuable resource.

Third, you learn to take what was given and apply it to the future. I haven't quite figured this one out yet, but I will let you know when I get there.

My incredible, blessed CORE team
at OLG.

Nick, my lifelong brother from another mother. 

Many people get caught up in the wrong crowd, but I'm so thankful and proud to say that I have kept up with the best of friends that anyone could have. A few friends have maybe gone a little off course, but I hope they consider me the right crowd.

La Frateli: the brothers.
You two will always be my brothers. 

"I would rather walk in the dark with a friend, than walk alone in the light."
~Helen Keller

ENCORE! The two guys I love
making music with.

Those who love you will stay and walk through the darkness, and those who remain superficial will only come when you have something they want, which is as good as having no one at all. I'd rather have that security in times of need than have no one to share high-standing achievements with.

Jess, Cam, Ember, and Abby; four women
I couldn't have suffered high school without.

Of course, leaving the company of such outstanding and amazing people comes with suffering. One can't help but feel lonely in the new the place they'll venture to or in the old place they'll stay without friends. But, as the wise Evans G. Valens said, "how lucky I am to have known somebody and something that saying goodbye to is so damned awful."

And I can't make a Silverstein reference (albeit an unintentional one) and not quote the poem itself.

Luke, my right hand man.

My dear Cam.

"Yes, we'll walk with a walk that is measured and slow.
And we'll go where the chalk-white arrows go,
For the children, they mark, and the children, they know
The place where the side walk ends."
~Shel Silverstein





Well, we're no longer children. Yet, somehow, we (kinda) know what we're doing.

I wish we could walk with a walk that was measured slower. But now is the next phase in our timeline; the next chapter in our book; the next book in our collection; the next step on the path that we chose when the "two roads diverged in a wood." (Frost) (I could go on all day with these, people.)

This is where our sidewalk ends, and new roads begin. See yah later.

'Til our roads meet,
Christian Camacho
The Traveling 'Nole