Letters For You

You

Write about something beautiful Thursday, December 14th, 2017

By Emily Davis

You never found yourself very attractive. Even if every girl at our school thought differently, you always found yourself very average. You were nothing but average my love. You were so much more than that. And, on the opposite of what all those other girls thought, you were so much more than just a pretty face. You were kind, generous, caring, funny, smart, perseverant and oh so competent. Everything you tried turned out to be easy. Plus, you were good at it. Remember diving, senior year? Everyone ended up hurting themselves when their stomach or any other parts of their body touched the water. Everyone but you. You looked so graceful, like you had done this your whole life. You were so proud of yourself, all the time. You thought so little of your competence that every little success was a big deal, but not in the obnoxious way. In the cute way. The way that made my heart melt every time.

Behind your dazzling smile and your deep eyes was a very good man. The type of man every woman would have been proud of raising. The type of man who was nice to everyone all the time. No matter who they were, what they had done or how bad they had talked about him before. "Everyone deserves kindness, Em," and you were right. Everyone deserves a little bit of love, no matter what. I never saw you scream or fight with someone. That doesn't mean you didn't get mad, because you did. Often even. I can't count the amount of times when you vented about something to me. How your coach was a jackass, how much your mother or sister annoyed you, how you hated that we didn't see each other more often outside of school, or any other little thing that happened to you. Some people found it a little hypocrite, but I found you strong and brave. Showing respect for everyone at all times is a courageous thing to do and you had to be very strong to hold your tongue like that.

On top of all those amazing qualities, you were a very handsome man. Sharp jaw, two dimples in your cheeks that made your smile even more adorable than it already was, beautiful green eyes that anyone could get lost in, dark brown curly hair that looked as soft as it was. The hours you spent at the gym or on the field sculpted your shoulders, arms and legs. You have always been extremely tall, even as a little kid. This is just the beginning of a long list of all the things I loved about you. I haven't talked about your long skilled fingers or your little pointy ears that annoyed you so much.

I know you by heart. I can still describe every inch of you. I know that if someone touched you on the side, close to your hip, you would flinch because of how ticklish you were. I know that if I wanted to annoy you, I just had to push your hair so that the top of your ears would show. I know that you would shiver if I kissed the spot below your earlobe. I know that you loved to have someone play with your hair before you fell asleep. I know that you used two types of toothpaste, one in the morning and one at night, because you wanted white teeth but you also wanted cavity protection. I know that you always wore the same type of socks. Your drawer was filled with the same sort of socks. You had like fifteen pair of the same socks. You showered at night and you used the same shampoo since you moved on from kids' products. I know you, I'll always know you. I'll never forget all the little things that made you, you. You are printed on my brain.

You were beautiful, inside and out, and I'll forever be grateful to have known you. I'll tell anyone who asks me. I'll tell them about the amazing man I knew better than I know myself. I'll tell them about the man who showed me what true respect was, what true love is, the importance of hard work, perseverance and modesty.

I could have talked about the beauty of the English meadows, the grandeur of the Eiffel Tower or the impressive architecture in Italy. Those are all beautiful things. My first idea was to describe those places to you, but then I thought about what would have made these places even more beautiful. The light in your eyes when you would have seen the Eiffel Tower, your smile when you would have improvised a soccer game in a meadow in Manchester, the questions you would have asked the guide in Italy about their culture. You. You would have made these places even more beautiful. So, I wrote about you. Mostly because I regret not telling you those things when I had the chance. I regret that you didn't know how amazing you were and how proud I was of you. This is my way of telling you how much you changed my life from the day I met you. This is me telling you how beautiful you were.

Inside and out.