Hopefully he won't read this

Its actually pretty strange that I have a blog. I have a place to show the world my terrible writing and my even worse storytellings skills, but none the less, I have a blog. The reason its strange is because I am, by nature, a private person. I don’t really talk in depth about my trips to people I don’t know or trust, and I certainly wouldn’t normally tell complete strangers ridiculous stories from my life, but here I am, typing away. I’m not going to be telling you any embarrassing stories, or giving travel advice, and I wont even tell you much about what I did on spring break. Instead I’m going to brag about someone very important to me, and I’m going to probably make him mad at me in the process (I really hope he doesn't read this) but its my blog and I do what I want.

Sean and I met at a party freshman year, a party in his room actually. He asked me what I wanted to drink, and I said “surprise me!” He smiled, said, “hold on a second” and proceeded to make me one of the best drinks I’ve ever had. For those of you who don’t know- Sean was born to be a bartender. Against every “alcohol edu” rule, everything my high school health class taught me, I took a drink from this complete stranger. Well he wasn’t exactly a stranger. When your school is 1400 strong on a good day, no one is a strange. But, it probably wasn’t a good idea to take that drink, I can’t say I regret it though.

He lived right next door to a few of my friends so after that party I saw a lot of Sean, and one day I think that we both figured out that we actually enjoyed each others company and didn’t annoy each other too much- its a love hate relationship- he also is one of the few people who will challenge me just to get a reaction out of me, something not easily done but something he excels at. Besides being a pain in my ass, Sean is the reason I am in Italy, he’s the reason I’m still functioning. 

When Aaron died, Sean talked to me almost everyday. Somedays he’d be the only person I’d talk to. It was so easy for me to shut off the world in South Africa: Close the laptop, turn off the phone- I could disappear in my room and I wouldn't have to deal with life going on around me. But then Sean would force me to go to meals, persuade me to go to class, all while doing more behind the scenes work than I ever thought possible. 

Its amazing how silently selfless a person can be. How a handful of surprise Skype dates can help to put back some of the pieces, or a text message can result in a very unexpected laugh

Sean is the reason I was able to come on this trip, he made the end of my last semester doable and helped me take it day by day. You can ask my parents, I’m as stubborn as they come and there are only so many people I will actually listen to. Somehow, Sean’s made that list.

Its been a hell of a year for us both, and the one thing that we had planned to do that was never in jeopardy was go on spring break together this semester. Scotland, Brugge, Amsterdam, and Paris- this was our adventure, an adventure I wouldn't have done with anyone else.

So to all of you; friends, family, strangers reading this silly little blog for god knows what reason, I hope you all have a Sean in your life, because he’s the best friend that will stick with you through anything.