S.F.

I have a friend. Nine years ago, you would have found him and I, living in two separate worlds, but one alike. You would have seen us competing in field day, kicking home runs at the weekly Friday kickball game or lined up outside of school waiting for our day to start, waiting for our lives to begin. Without a care in the world, our innocent eyes wandered through a world that had nothing to offer us but a harsh reality that we wouldn't stay those two little kids forever; and we were unaware of what our futures would hold. As our focuses shifted from our secluded haven we found ourselves pushed out into a new world, and a much bigger one at that. This held new experiences for him and I, but new experiences that did not include each other. Now we stand in the midst of our senior year of high school, and I find a strange comfort in the fact that nine years ago we formed a friendship, and nine years later we are able to renew what we had started. Through out the nine years that have passed I have watched him and I evolve separately into brand new people. I look with a new set of eyes out at the world thanks to this individual, and this is a thanks to him, from not only me but everyone who knows him. I have a friend. Nine years ago, you would have found him and I, living in two separate worlds, but one alike. Nine years later and he is a man, a man ready to serve for our country, to protect people like us, giving us freedom. Nine years later and he is being shipped away, and all that I can do is wave with the thought in the back of my head wishing that I didn't waste so much time.

Thank you for your service.