Old Friends, Old Story

Well, as it's 1:10 in the morning, I look back at the life I have had so far. Tonight, I think about my old friends..

When I was a child, I was in first grade when I moved to Pennsylvania. I was so afraid, because I didn't know how I would cope with getting friends. Would people accept me? Would they shun me? I guess you and I will find out.

I went to a little school called Cambria County Christian School. My mom had not a lot of money moving up to Pennsylvania, so the school offered to pay my tuition. My mom was so happy, as was I. Within the first day of going to that school, I made a lot of new friends. Everyone was just so nice to me. Despite everyone who was nice to me, there was a guy who became my best friend. His name is Tyler Berkebile. I'll talk about him later, but let me tell you about me. Whenever I was younger, I was a really silly kid. I did a lot of goofy stuff (I mean, c'mon, I was a kid!). I'm not going to mention the embarrassing things I did, but I was the definition of a wild kid. I think a lot of my friend's parents were afraid to have me over, because I might influence them in some way that might not be best. I see where they would be coming from now haha. Despite all the stuff in my younger days, Tyler still wanted to be friends with me surprisingly. I could tell of some funny times at Tyler's house, and when he was at mine. At the camp I used to go to, we would always write each other's names on the camp pamphlet as for who we would like to be our cabin mate. I always invited him to my birthday parties. Always. But then, something happened.

After my fourth grade year at the school, the tuition wasn't available for me anymore. I then went to a public school instead. I was completely sad and devastated. I already had to go through leaving friends before in Georgia, and I had to do it again.

In the time from 5th grade until 8th, I lost contact with my old friends at the Christian school. I rarely saw them. It's like they all vanished..

One night during the summer after my eighth grade year, my mom got a phone call from the Christian school. They said I could come back! All I would have to do is play basketball, and my tuition would be paid! I was so excited to go back! I came back the first day of my ninth grade year, and people were so shocked to see me (despite the fact the I probably grew over a foot since they last saw me). I remember one of my old friends saying "You're Canaan Hess! You're popular!" And when those words came out, I felt a sense of importance in my life. Like, someone actually cared. I saw my best friend Tyler again. It was so great to see him! There was something different though.

Over the span of three years, a person can gain a lot of new friends, and maybe a few best friends as well. He had a completely new image, as did I. He was into skateboarding with his friends, and I couldn't skateboard worth anything. But you know what? I looked up to Tyler so much, and he was such a big role model in my life, that I got into skateboarding stuff too. I changed my appearance. From my shirts, all the way down to my shoes. I wanted to fit into his group. I wanted to rekindle the friend flame that had been out for three years. Unfortunately, being tall and skateboarding don't really mix. No matter how hard I tried, it just seemed like there was a wedge between me an Tyler. Things just didn't click. We didn't have a lot of the same interests. I'm the one who felt vanished. I never have been to his house since I came back to the Christian school. I hope to sometime soon. It would be really cool! He's a really cool cat. You should check out his YouTube channel!

Now that I'm a senior now, and am looking back at the previous experiences of my life, I lost a lot of friends, and really only have a select few now.. A couple days ago, I was talking to someone about how I want to hang out with my friends during the summer. Then that person said "If you have a lot of friends, name some of your best friends right now at the top of your head". I then laughed, because of how simple it would be.. But then I actually started thinking.. and I could only think of a couple.. I couldn't believe how hard it was to think of an answer to this "simple" question.. I guess with the more you age, the more friends you lose.. Some of it is for the good, and some might just not seem fair.. But I know that Jesus is a friend of mine. I'm not afraid to say it. I believe it in here *points to heart*, here *points to mind*, and here *points to soul*. If I strive to be like Christ, He will put the right people in my life for a reason. I have learned this over the years. I shouldn't be seeking the attention of other people. I have to be me. This is me. All the guts and glory. Even though I miss my good ol' friend Tyler, maybe God put him in my life so I could learn a lesson on friendship, and tell you this story today. This blog post wasn't written to rag on my old friends, and be rude. I just miss them, that's all.

Well, I am getting tired, and I'm waking up in like eight hours to go to a building where people meet every Sunday. :)

Until next time,
Canaan