Investments

It seems to me that we never fully let go or get over something that we invest a lot of time and effort and what ever resources. One person specifically has triggered these thoughts, but the more I think about it, the farther back I think and realize where I've been, what I've had, what I've gone through, who was there...

You see, I have my instant messenger program open next to my web browser and a certain someone is logged it right now that I feel a bit nervous talking to. Not necessarily because of how I feel now, but how I used to feel. Anyway, what I'm trying to set up is this...the things/people we invest in, become a part of us.

I remember back in high school, my freshmen year; I was lost. I ended up hanging out with some people that just weren't that great of an influence, but they were willing to let me hang around, so naturally I did. After a rough year of trying to be myself and virtually living under my brother's shadow, I was just as lost if not more so because my brother graduated and I was alone. Fortunately, I met some good people that saw me and started investing in me time and effort into being friends. These people, my soon to be friends were different from the others because they didn't know me, they had no preconceptions or expectations, they liked me for who I was.

Once trust was built up and many common qualities were developed, I started investing time into them and myself; we became a close family. Through the next three years we hung out and spent time inside and outside of school just hanging around, being ourselves. Every lunch we would sit in a specific area of the campus and we would sit, eat, talk, play our guitars, play random card games...we were happy.

One day we all graduated and when the summer was over, many of us parted ways; some went to this college, others went to that college and a couple went to yonder college. Hardly any of us kept in touch all that much. Eventually I lost track of where people were and how they've been doing; which brings us to the present.

Like this single person I spent a lot of time getting to know and opening up to them, these people from high school have become a part of me. They may not all be a part of me that is on the surface all the time, but somewhere inside me, I'm still sitting on the grass eating lunch with them...Somewhere inside, I'm still walking along the beach to a lifeguard tower talking for hours.

If any of you are reading this, whether from high school or college, I would not be who I am if it were not for YOU. Thank you for investing in me.