My Sunniest Friend

by Andrea
(USA)

This is a very personal thank you letter for a friend whom I may never get to hug again. I hope you enjoy it!

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Dear Ted,

I will be missing you. We only met in the second semester and I remember being almost shocked that you laughed so genuinely at the story I was exaggerating with wide gestures in front of the library on that sunny April day.

You are, I believe, one of the most pleasant people I have ever met. You are gentle and wise...and I think what always struck me about you was how inclusive you were with other people.

Your inclusiveness stands in sharp contrast to my own tendency to "weed out" from my acquaintances the stupid, the arrogant, the rude or merely the un-charming.

Talking to you everyday over cheap vending-machine coffee on our dormitory terrace, seeing that you were genuinely happy to see just about everyone, reminded me that I was not simply being selective with people.

I was also being judgmental, incredibly arrogant and often wrong in my pronouncements. You were well-aware James talks too much, yet you were never so uncurteous as not to show interest and gently try to steer his monologue into a conversation.

You also had this uncanny sense about people who are simply not good, but this did not prevent you from being friendly and considerate out of respect for the people who may think otherwise.(And yes, you were right about Adam...)

You are a fairy-tale friend. Tina, Mia and John all have to thank you for the fast food rounds you were doing in the middle of the night so they could continue to frantically type their theses.

Finally, I have to thank you for restoring my faith in the existence of deeply decent people.

Good bye lovely Ted! We may meet again but we also may not. Regardless of that, please be aware that countries away, I smile when thinking of you, sunny man!

Bear Hug!
Andrea