A true friend never gets in your way unless you happen to be going down. 
-Arnold H. Glasow

In this age of the digital frontier, making meaningful human connections hasn’t just become a challenge, its a fading art.  Those of us who are used to communicating via text message, email, by Facebook or Tumblr have many acquaintances,  Those nebulous connections to people we will never see or hear and only know through their words and choice of avatar.

It takes something very special to make a true connection to a person through the internet. More than just shared likes or dislikes, it takes honesty and openness.  Something we are taught never to be on the internet.  Though the anonymity the internet provides allows those of us who are too shy to speak up in real life, a stage on which to express ourselves. Sometimes when we do so we are shot down, other times we make a friend for life.

It has been my great privilege to meet and get to know three very select people, only one of whom I have met in person.  One passed away last year and the other I hope to meet some day.

I am close to each of them in different ways.  My friend who passed was a wonderful conversationalist and we would have lengthy discussions on everything from science fiction to particle physics.  I miss him greatly.

My other two friends, while younger than myself share a lot of my likes and sensibilities.  They are two of the very few people with whom I have shared deeply intimate details about myself.  I’ve grown to love both of them dearly and consider them among my very closest friends.

Aya is immensely talented and never ceases to amaze me.  She is as beautiful as she is intelligent.  Misaki is brilliant and adorable and is able to do things I could never imagine, much less accomplish.  

Aya has a very promising career either as an author or a model/actress.  She’s overcome a lot in her life and has been there to help me through some of the very toughest moments of mine.  I honestly don’t know what I ever did without her.

“Queen of Cocoon” Work done by J’s Design Class Students (ADB) Photography by
Saryn Christina Photography

Misaki is studying to be a child psychologist, which just blows me away  I couldn’t possibly have more respect for her but she’s constantly proving ever more worthy of it.  She has encouraged me to keep writing when I was ready to give up and when I was too depressed to even think about writing.  She and I have shared many things with each other.

These are the people who inspire me and keep me writing.  This post is dedicated to them.