Teacher friends

So I have this theory that there are certain friends in your life that are your Teacher Friends. They're the people that you're destined to be friends with so that they can teach you something. Maybe it's how to tie your shoes. Maybe it's to teach you how to love. Who knows? But they're there and they're teaching.

Anyway, so since I was thinking about this. I decided to share with you a few of my teacher friends...

The first one of note came in the form of a short little girl with a crazy last name and huge glasses. We were in love. Well, as in love as two 8 year olds could be. Her name was Trina. (Don't worry, all of these names have been changed.) Trina was an interesting little girl. She didn't have many friends but that didn't seem to bother her. She would just continue to draw little horses in the margins of our text books. She loved horses. And riding bikes. And *Nsync. But most of all, she loved me. She really did. She loved me innocently and without requirement. She didn't care if I loved her back or if I even liked her. And one day she turned to me and said, "You know Kaleb, it's okay that you're different. I'm different too. That's why we're so cool." To this day I don't know why she said that to me. And I'm still not entirely sure what she meant by "different" but I realized that it really WAS okay that I was different. And I loved myself for that. So thanks, Trina, for teaching me the difference.

Another one of my teacher friends has got to be my friend Mitch. Everything about Mitch is huge. He's 6 foot something, a huge personality and a giant heart. He does his best to see the best in everyone and give everyone a fair chance. I've always admired that about him. And I think the day he taught me something was the day that he forgave me for something I once said. I was accidentally mean to him, said something without thinking and really hurt his feelings. But nevertheless, he gave me a second chance.  Mitch taught me that everyone, no matter who they are or what they've done, they deserve a clean slate. Thanks Mitch for teaching me about creating a fair world.

The last one that I'm going to share is my friend Jalell. Jalell is an amazing person. He knows exactly who he is and who he wants to be with for the rest of his life. He's kind, mature and knows how to laugh at life and let things go. Jalell is one of my favorite people on this earth. Recently he taught me how not to be afraid, to go after what I want and REALLY go after it without inhibition or hesitation. He showed me how to fling myself into the universe and not care how long it took me to get there, just as long as I get there eventually. He taught me to be okay with my decisions as long as they were my own. It's because of him that I've really started thinking about my hopes and dreams and forming tangible plans to achieve them. Thank you, Jalell, for teaching me how to dream again.

These are just three of my Teacher Friends. In real life, I have hundreds. I mean, honestly, I have something to learn from each one of my friends. But some stand out more than the others.