Tyler Erwin.

Tyler Erwin was one of the people who convinced me to start writing this blog. Last time I sent him a message about my newest post, he decided to tell me I should write a post about him. And so I am. I'm not going to introduce him because all 5 people that actually read this blog probably already know him. I've known Erwin pretty much my whole life. He is always a source of joy and laughter, without fail. We haven't always seen eye to eye on things, but for whatever reason, I've always felt some sort of indescribable pull torwards him. I can't explain it, but that's the way it is. I remember one time in particular when he said something to me that has meant more to me than almost anything anyone has ever told me. I don't remember the time, or the circumstances, or anything else about the conversation. I can have a terrible memory sometimes. What I do remember about the conversation was that he told me he respected me. I don't even remember doing anything to earn his respect, but it was there. That was the first time I remember being told I was respected. People had always told me I was smart, which is not my fault, or other good things such as being ridiculously good-looking (obviously)... the point is, I realized at that moment that Tyler Erwin respected me. That meant more to me than I can describe with words. I suddenly realized the weight that our actions and words can have on others when we don't even realize. Erwin probably never had any idea how much that meant to me, and he probably doesn't even remember saying it. But I most certainly do. As silly as this sounds, sometimes that statement haunts me when I screw up. I know he isn't watching me and he would forgive me even if I screwed up a million times, but his respect means that much to me. So there you go, Erwin, I wrote about you. Thank you so much. Love you bud.