Person of the Week – 1 – 2011
by Christian Martinez
This is something that I’ve wanted to do for a long time. I actually came up with the idea about four months ago, and I stifled the urge to do it because it would have come without a context and people might not have understood the point of it all.
As many of you may know, I love writing. I write long and elaborate pieces, and every word I use has a piece of my heart and soul attached to it. Writing is an escape, a joy, my preferred choice for catharsis. It seemed fitting to finally relinquish to my desires and make it a regular part of my regimen. The choice was clear then: for this year, I wanted to celebrate the people that I love, respect or simply find fascinating, and I will be writing about them.
There’s no specific criteria about who I will be picking. This person could be a famous personality, a friend, or perhaps even someone whom I’d simply pass by while driving. I could name the person or not. I could write a novel about the person or simply drop a sentence about him or her. The only standard that I’d like to keep is that the piece should be a celebration of the person, and must convey a lesson of sorts that I’d find significant, for one reason or another, during that week.
For this week, I would like to talk about one of the closest friends I have. I’ve known this person for close to six years. I had met him while I was in grade ten, and at that time we found out that we were both experiencing some pretty crazy difficult things. His parents were very wealthy, and he had everything, yet he felt so misunderstood. He was a rebel. He rolled with a troublesome bunch. It would have been a surprise, then, for someone in his disposition to have come across this studious guy with the sturdiest pole up his bum.
For almost a year he must have spent almost every night at my house. We would do all the things that friends usually do, but we also talked. He was a great conversationalist. It would not be an exaggeration to say that he helped me grow up, and I him. We matured together. He was a troubled guy, and I was as austere as it got. We brought out the best in each other. If ever there was a person who understood me the best, it might have been him.
There came a time, however, when his dad had to move for business. He now lives in London, England. Man, that was such a change for me. From spending time with him almost every day, I lost him abruptly. That was a difficult time. In any case, I miss him. I still keep in touch with this friend. I wish him all the best, and I look forward to spending time with my friend again.
Thank you C. H.
