Some of my friends

I wrote this piece to introduce the groomsmen at my wedding. I think the friends you have are a good representative of your values. I think it’s good to have friends because otherwise you are just by yourself, and being lonely is not as fun. I have been lucky to have some good friends, and here are some of them in alphabetical order:

Amulya Iyer – Everyone loves Mooks. I think he is uncontestably the most likeable person I will ever know. But I think I love him a little bit more than everyone else. What I love about him more than everyone else is how comfortable our relationship is. I feel like I can be myself with him: tell stupid jokes, talk about how awesome we are, and discuss our most serious dreams. I hope one day he finds someone that feels the same way I feel about him.

Eric Morris – Probably my biggest influence in high school. I was blown away by his leadership and attitude towards running, but what I love most about Eric is his intentionality in our relationship. Despite being friends solely through running, our relationship blossomed after I stopped running with him. He has always been intentional about calling, visiting me at Kenyon, and we’ve both succesfully put a lot of work into supporting each other through some tough years.

Geoff Anderson – My first friend in college. I lived with Geoff my sophomore and senior year of college, but I probably saw him a total of six times in those two years. I think we’ve talked maybe once or twice in the past year, but what I love about Geoff is that even when we never see each other, we can pick up our relationship from any point and be in perfect stride. I know Geoff and I will be friends forever whether he lives in Texas or Italy.

Heath Newton – My first friend in Portland. What I admire most about Heath is, simply, what a caring friend he is. He has always been thoughtful towards our relationship and has been willing to go out of his way to develop our relationship. Heath and I lead a hiking group at our church, and it has been an inspiration for me to see how much he values relationships. I hope to continue to be inspired by him.

Kaleb Keyserling – Keyser and I became friends in college because we were both cross country teammates and biology majors. We spent many nights in the biology reading room bonding over studying for orgo, and then leaving to put in a good hard 15 mile long run. I feel like Keyser and I have been through a lot, and he’s put up with me through a lot. In my dreams I would go to med school with Keyser.

Tom Herer – More than any friend I’ve ever had, I always associate Tom with love. He is a thoughtful man, and one that I have seen transform more than anyone else over these past few years. My favorite thing about Tom is that I feel like I could count on him to love me regardless of what I do or who I am, and there isn’t much more to life than having friends like that.

Will Kessenich – Will was my cross country teammate and senior year roommate. We put in a lot of hard hard miles together, but the thing I will always remember about Will were our late night chats over beers and giant bags of Kettle chips. We talked late into the night about classes, girls, just generally about how silly life is, all the while consuming 1000 calories per night. Plus I was the first person Will ever met at Kenyon, so that counts for something.

from ken

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