1 The Voices (2020)

Like Pieces in a Puzzle

I feel like a puzzle. Each piece of me is a friend I've made along the way. And just like pieces in a puzzle, each friend is a different size and shape. Each friend fills a different role for me and each one is "located" in a different place. But despite all these differences, they are all equally loved and important. I need all of them to function, or they would not be my friends otherwise. Even if they are all different in terms of appearance and specific "function" each one is an integral part of me.

So whether you are near or far, close to me or not, I love and appreciate you all dearly and deeply. Each of you is a piece of me. Each of you inspires and drives me. And I think about each of you every day because you deserve it. You deserve to be remembered. And each of you influences me to do/be better. Like pieces in a puzzle, each of you are part of me and each of you has something unique and important to offer. From some of you, I am inspired by your courage. And from others, I take wisdom. And from others still, I take work ethic. Every single one of you, all of my friends, is like a puzzle piece that interlocks to create me.

I take everything I have ever learned from/about all of you and try to use it in my daily life because you deserve to be remembered. I think of you all and want to make you proud, so to speak. That way, each of you gets to share in all my triumphs. Each of you gets credit for what I do because nothing I do exists in a vacuum. All of you helped me become who I am today, so all of you deserves a portion of that final victory. Like pieces in a puzzle, each piece gets its own time and place to shine. Each piece is important. That's how I want to treat all of you. Each of you gets a moment to shine in/through me. Each time I do something good, I attribute it to one of you.

Whether we are close or not, whether you know it or not, this one truly goes out to anyone/everyone I've ever spoken to in any way, shape or form. All of you are important to me in some way. All of you have helped shape me in some way. And for that, all of you deserve some of my life's credit in some way. All of you deserve my love and remembrance in some way. I'd be drastically different without my friends. I shape my life in accordance to what you would want for me. Thanks to you all, I'm a better person than I would have been otherwise. Even if I'm calling the shots, I cannot take the credit, for it was my friends who inspired me to make these choices at all. We all deserve a little due. We all have made this journey together, like pieces in a puzzle building up to the final design. (Boy what a lovely design it is!)

So this one goes out to you. You all have inspired me to write this and you inspire me to be a good person. All of you have done a good deed and all of you deserve the credit. Like pieces in a puzzle, you've made me complete and now allow me to display each and every piece because you all deserve to be seen and loved for the wonders that you are!

I love you all, you're the best!