There are so many unique and amazing people out there in the world, just waiting, not waiting to just share their stories, but to touch and alter lives. Everyday we are forced to wake up and step foot into a society where instead of it being something admirable, our own uniqueness is looked at as if it were a disease. In a world that seems to have so many things wrong with it, where do we, as individuals stand? There are people who believe that the world owes them something and that, quite frankly, they are God’s gift to the world. Because of you, I refuse to be one of those people.

In a world full of carbon copies and people who falter in their beliefs, I am able to look to you and truly see a living example of the impact we can truly make on the world if we only tried. You are truly my inspiration. Everyday you get up and despite the hardships you may encounter, you refuse to let it bring you down. You go on each day trying to make a difference, no matter how small it may be, and trust me, you truly are. Because of you, people are now willing to look beyond stereotypes. Because of your infectious passion about inclusion, there are millions of people who are slowly putting a stop to discrimination. You make me want to be a better person, and I honestly hope that I do become that person. Your presence in my life strengthens me to look at situations and just life in general in a positive light. You’ve not only been able to come out on top over many trials and tribulations, but you have been able to use those hardships in a positive way, and I can only hope to do the same. In all honesty though, I don’t feel that it’s completely fair to you to idolize you because I’d imagine it’d be something rather difficult for you to live up to everyday, but whether or not you see it, it is because of the fact that you are merely human and make mistakes that you are all the more reason to look up to you as an influence. It is in your perseverance to stay true to yourself and your beliefs that makes me strive to do the same. It is people like you who will make, or rather who have made a difference in the world. You have made me realize that despite all of the craziness in the world we live in, there are still things that are ultimately and essentially good.

Mother Theresa once said that the greatest disease from which mankind is suffering from is not aids or cancer, but rather, the feeling of being unwanted. Through the lessons that I’ve learned from you, I may not be able to help all of mankind but I can start with the people around me. I hope that, ultimately, no matter how small the affect of my actions are in the world in general, that I do make a difference in the world. I know that to the people around me, they are not concerned about the problems going on in the rest of the world because they are sitting in a classroom, house, or store, fighting their own battles everyday. I’d like to hope that my presence has helped people in some way or another. I think that, ultimately, we all make a difference in the lives of people that we encounter everyday. 

We are all put in school, and ultimately, on the Earth, to learn. We are taught how to speak Spanish, we are taught how to create a chemical reaction, we are taught how to multiply and divide radicals. We are expected to know and learn these things, but what can you honestly say you will remember forever from those classes? In all honesty, I’d probably have to say nothing because that are no significant lessons that relate directly to me and my life, unlike the lessons that I will have learned from living my life everyday. Through living by your example, I have realized how much I tend to take for granted the love and friendship in my life and how much I truly depend and believe in God. It is your example and presence that is much more important to me than the lessons that I will learn in geometry or world history because the lessons that I’ve learned from you affect the person that I am and will be for the rest of my life. If I were to go through life not taking a moment to see what I’m honestly contributing to the world, then my life would not have been lived correctly. I have come to realize that life is not all about academics and that sometimes, the most important things that you learn aren’t meant to be comprehended by the mind, but through the heart.

I write this to you in hopes of you finding a reason to go on in times of doubt. I hope that you realize the impact that you have made in the world and in my life. There would never be enough words to express the amount of thanks I have for your presence in my life, but it is my hope that my feelings have some how been expressed through this. Malcolm Stevenson Forbes once said “To measure the man, measure his heart.” You are truly the measure of a man. You are nothing less than yourself, and I love you for that. May God bless on you as you encounter the many joys and hardships that await you. I’m praying for you.

All my unconditional love, Renei