Let me reveal, here and now
My true thoughts of the heart, hear the sound
Of my voice as you read the words on this page
And call me whatever, a dunce or a sage
But friendship is simple:
We as humans are like paper
Alone we are easily torn
But together we are unusually stronger
And it is because of these friends, along with our families
these loved ones, that we continue to survive
Continue to strive
Continue to be….alive
Throughout high school, many friends come and go
Like the seasons
But few have been there through thick and thin
Few are around when you need them like those who will shortly be named
And while some are recent, they will be cherished forever
Here I start
If I truly look within my heart
My best friend Tim, or Fatha Dark
Is someone who has been able to help
When I was not able to fend for myself
When I was weak or down or mad
When I was sad, when I was glad
When I needed a good laugh
You were there
My brother-in-arms no matter how rough
My intellectual sparring partner, and co-president
I pass onto you more than just a club
I pass onto you the mantle of guardian and comforter
Let you be there for those who were there for me
and even for those who are simply in need
Let you defend the weak and the women
No matter your differences or reservations
I pass onto you my trust and my sense of justice
You are not the cold-hearted douche you may come off as to some
You are my brother
God bless you
Next in line is Rick
Sometimes considered a…“Rick” (with a “D”)
You’ve been there for a while even though it was only a year
But what is time between friends?
My other intellectual sparring partner
The other grandson in Nana’s eyes
You have helped me to see things in a different light
And have helped me see the joy in living life to the fullest
I have also seen within you a light that has not yet faded
You may lose focus, but your heart is true
While you find fun in some, you find love with others
And you spread joy and love regardless of the circumstance
I pass onto you my explicit sense of happiness and the mantle of glowing hope
You will inspire happiness and restored hope in many to come
Watch over the girls in my absence
And continue to keep the peace
You and Tim are now “The Guardians”
God bless you
Cassie
There is so much to say
You have grown so much since I first met you
Along with Olivia, Leann, and Emily
The four of you may not all be the best of friends
But you have all grown so much and I’m proud of you guys
Cassie first:
You are my sister, regardless of how often or how little we speak
You and I have had our heart-to-hearts
We have shared poetry and awesome bus rides
We’ve shared some secrets and had trust between us
And I was always able to talk to you as a voice of reason
Among the girls
You are a strong and smart girl
Don’t lose that
Despite whatever shortcomings you may encounter
I know you can overcome them and reach your goals
I have faith in you
God bless you
Emily
Despite our checkered relationship (or lack thereof)
I have always considered you a friend
Call me crazy, but that’s just me
I may have given you a hard time
Or maybe we butted heads often
But you were still in my heart as a friend
I wish you the best in all you do
I know you can be anything and do anything
Keep your head up and don’t let anyone make you drop it
And don’t lose that little kid in your heart
God bless you
Olivia
You’re awesome
No matter what happened you and I could be cool
We always seemed pretty close and could talk about anything
And we could ask anything of each other
You will be a friend of mine for a very long time
But you have to keep focused
Work hard and you’ll go far, trust me
And take care of Leann
She needs a continually supportive sis like you
But I don’t need to tell you that
Keep your head up and stay strong
God bless you
Leann
First I want to say I’m going to miss you
You were always cool
We had our jokes
And our talks
Our fun times
And our awkward ones
But overall it has been a great journey
I’m glad to have met you
And I want you to know that you can always talk to me if you need to
Take care of Olivia, you two are both great
And together you could cure cancer if you tried
Take care, babe
God bless you
Shyam
When I think of you, I think my brother
You and I have been friends since I arrived
And not a day goes by that I regret your friendship
You and I have rarely fought or argued
And I can always find peace in speaking to you
You always have good advice
You are sagacious and strong
Keep your head about you
And I know our paths will cross again
Keep in touch
And we’ll open that P.I. firm together soon, bro
God bless you
John
I appreciate our friendship
I appreciate the fact that you and I have been able to share our art
Our writings
Our songs
Our hearts as men, as brothers
You and I have had each others’ backs for two years now
We may graduate, we may not see each other for a while
But our paths will re-align, this much I forsee
You have been a great influence on me
And I am grateful to you for many things
Including your honesty and loyalty
Keep in touch, and may you be blessed in all that you do, brother
God bless you
Ryan
Chemistry and football were fun
As was club, and prom limo
But you and I were bros
We had fun and could talk about anything
You were an interesting person, and I don’t think that’s going away anytime soon
Keep in touch
I hope that you become something great because I see you doing so
Your work ethic is insane despite occasional laziness
And you are very astute
Keep your wisdom and intelligence, and don’t lose that sense of humor in college
God bless you
Dan
The Black Ghost
We have had an interesting few years
No matter what has gone down
You have been a good friend
And a good brother
Keep strong and keep up your training
Keep your writing up and put out a mixtape!
I want to hear it soon
Keep an eye on things for me
The Squad needs to keep things in check
God bless you
D-Bow
You and I have been cool this year
And despite not having the chance to have known you my entire time at Wiss
I am glad to have been your friend this past year
I plan on doing so for a while
Let’s keep in touch and stay bros
Wish you the best of luck
Go kick tail and become something awesome
I trust God is with you
Let our paths cross again
God bless you
Jocelyn
Our relationship has been different each year
But no matter what, I have enjoyed it
You are a valuable friend
And stronger than you may realize
I know that God is with you
And I know He has given you gifts
Especially your art
Keep up your passion
And keep your faith
Keep in touch, and I hope our paths cross again
God bless you
Hector
BU buddy
And sharing classes every year
You have definitely changed more and more since I met you
You are less gloomy, more happy, and more open about yourself than I remember
I am glad to have met you, and even more glad that we get to go to college together!
Let’s hope that we can continue our friendship in college
Our paths may be intertwined, who knows?
Star Wars and anime, the good stuff
You and I have shared that
And we can always share our writing
Keep your head up, and become the next Indiana Jones
God bless you
Taylor
My little brother
You mean alot to me, man, more than you realize
You have been there and been honest and just been yourself
You remind me so much of DJ, but also have a distinction:
Your writing
It is genuine and shows your courage to open yourself to the world
You are brave and strong, and I forsee good things for you
Take care of your mother and father
And, of course, live on for DJ
You can always hit me up if you need to talk
Take care and keep your head up, lil’ bro
God bless you
Tori
Despite things that have happened for you this year
I know that good things are bound to come
You have proven that you are stronger than you know
And you have a certain way of speaking to people to set them straight
You are a genuine friend
And while you may not always make the best decisions for yourself
You have a sound mind
And a strong heart
Keep your head up
And don’t, I repeat, DON’T, lose your personality
You are awesome, girl
God bless you
Geoff
Papa Dukes
Another brother-in-arms
Penumbra wouldn’t be complete without you
Watch over Tim and Book and make sure they don’t falter
And be sure to continue to “bring the ruckus”
You are a beacon of strength and reason within the group
Don’t lose sight of that
God bless you
Britne
My sister
We’ve been friends for three years
And each year we just got closer and closer
You have a good man
And he a good girl
Take care of each other, look out for one another
I wish you luck and may God watch over you
God bless you
Last, but not least: Sarah
While new this year, it felt like you were always here
You and I have had many heart-to-hearts
And I value your friendship
It took forever for me to tell you everything
But I’m glad that I did, that you took it well,
and that it changed nothing between us
I know you will figure out your path in due time
And God will watch over you and guide you to success
Things haven’t been easy, but He has a plan
We can’t always figure it out, but it happens
Keep your head up, stay smiling that pretty smile,
and make sure Rick doesn’t get himself killed by some girl
Take care and don’t lose your spunk, girl
God bless you
You are all in my heart now and forever.
You are the best friends anyone could ask for.
God bless you all.
You are my fellow sheets of paper.