I think every time I post here, I'm going to say, "Fuck it's been a long time."
I finally talked to my long lost, best friend in high school yesterday. I'm jealous of the life he's lived while we were apart (that sounds gay.) So far, it's the stuff cool biographies are written about: meeting his wife on the internet, selling all worldly possesions to move to Canada to be with her (romantic), getting married so he doesn't get deported (comic relief), traveling to South Africa to win bronze medals in a sport called Dragon Boat racing (excitement.) Wrote down it doesn't seem all that spectacular. What the hell is
Dragon Boat racing?What draws me to his life and causes this little piece of writing is that, he's done it. He's gone out, discovered himself and lived free. He's explored the world, accomplished things and cured his troubled mind. Fortune brought him glass but he finds diamonds. What amazes me the most was how he accomplished it so simply. Strive for what makes you happy. That's the lesson I take and it's such an inspiration.
My friend may be the most inspirational person in my life. When he speaks, he speaks with passion and belief that one cannot help but think about what he'd say. If he were a deeply religious man, he has the energy and charisma to be the leader of a religous community, whichever community he decides to lead. (And, when he makes his decision, good luck trying to sway him.) He simply chases happiness. He's changed his lifestyle and activities for happiness as often as he changes his mind. He was a vegan for quite a while. He's dabbled in multiple theological thoughts from christianity to buddhism. He joked, "while others experimented with drugs, [he] experimented with religions." All in his drive towards happiness.
I only heard the cliffnotes in our conversation about our lives but, his has gotten a hold of me. Aside from the fact that I've been searching for him for almost a decade and maybe I'm just a bit ... "starstruck" would probably best fit the emotion but maybe I'm just incredibly releived he still exists. I fell over when I finally found him.
Here's an interesting fact about him. He and his wife created their last name. They gave up both of their last names and made an entirely new one. In his words, "we planted our own family tree." It's no wonder I couldn't find him.
He's alsto got his own website, called
Scatterboy.net.
Labels: best friend, biography, canada, inspiration, lost and found