The Value of Inspiration
People are like the change we acquire over time; we get a specific amount of value out of each individual coin, as we would with the friendships we make and maintain overtime. In the case of a friend, there are those who you can sense some kind of special bond, or a special influence that impacts the development of you as a person. These friends you hold more valuable as you would hold a quarter more valuable over a penny. Unfortunately, these friends can disappear just as quickly as your quarters do versus the rate at which your pennies disappear. One of the most influential people in my life came and went in just a period of six months leaving me with a sense of personal growth that would have never developed to its’ fullest potential had he never entered my life period. As it is said, it is better to have loved than to never have loved at all. However, in this case it was not love, instead it was a friendship that encouraged both of our inspiration and further elaborated the lessons in life that are to be learned, as well as the ones to be let go. I met Kam in November of 2001. He was, and still is, dating a good friend of mine. I must be honest, I take notice to body language in first impressions and that rather tends to effect how I feel towards you and how comfortable I am with you and myself in the same room socially. Kam’s first impression on me was that he had not a care in the world, and had a combined vibe of anger and remorse. He was 28 years old, and stood at 6’2 weighing maybe 130 pounds, which made me think he had some kind of present drug problem. His clothes were ragged, but clean, and he wore shoes that seemed as though he had borrowed them since their condition was so much better than that of his clothes. His attitude towards everyone seemed subtle with a hint of rude and unfriendliness; I later learned that previously that day he and his girlfriend had an argument, so this most likely had some kind of effect on his attitude that particular night. He sat quietly on the couch the entire evening with the facial expression of slight disgust and a notion to leave. Now you may wonder at this point, what is the worth of further exploring the depths of this person with such unseeming friendliness? Ah, this is only the beginning; we have not yet ventured deep enough into the life of Kam to fully understand his actions and ways. Thus, let us not judge him too quickly, as I did on a first impression basis Kam at this point in time was living with one of his few friends in an apartment that they both paid for. He was soon kicked out however, due to a disagreement among his roommate and his mother on Kam’s presence in the apartment, even though his mother did not even reside in the apartment and technically had no say so. Thus Kam had nowhere to go, and was offered a place to stay next door to me where friends of mine lived. In return Kam was to help out with the catering business that my friends’ mother ran and to do any manly labor that needed to be done around the house. Everyday after school Kam would be outside in the back room drinking his coffee and smoking a cigarette, and since this is where I went everyday after school I ended up spending more and more time getting to know him. I never saw him eat during this time period though; it was always coffee and cigarettes.