Dear friend,

How are you? It's me, that little freshman you took under your wing four years ago. But I guess you now know me as Sam. Yep it's me, the one from the letters that Charlie has been writing to you. I was the one that told him about you, but I'll explain that later.

I can't believe how long it's been, I mean this is the first time I've talked to you since you moved away four years ago. I heard about your dad in the news, I'm really sorry, but remember that he died serving his country, be proud of him. How is your mom doing? Tell her I say hi. How is California? Different than Pittsburgh I bet! I really miss you, I'm sorry I haven't really talked to you very much, but this last year has been crazy and I knew you would be busy at school, it's your last year, right? I also thought that the more I talked to you the harder it would be to let go, but I know now that I never had to let go, just move on. Because if I didn't move on I would still be crying every day, wishing you would come back home. But I guess California is your home now, or is Pittsburgh still considered that? I'm just starting at Penn state and I really love it so far, I was scared the first week, but now I've adjusted and I'm having the time of my life, but I miss Patrick. He's going to the Unoversity of Washington for music. He misses you too. The other day we were talking about our last night with you, do you remember it? You, me and Patrick sat on the hill at the golf course and drank a bottle of champagne to celebrate your graduation. We got so drunk we ran all through the golf course, screaming "we are infinite, we are infinite!" That was one of the best nights of my life. It's funny actually, the freshman that's been writing to you, we took him to that golf course and we ran through the sunset just like when you were here. And we took him through the Fort Pitt Tunnel and you know what he said? He said, "I feel infinite." It was almost if you were there with us, instead of him. The tunnel was a great idea, I'm glad you showed it to Patrick and I all those years ago, we've had so much fun driving through it over the years. We really should do it again sometime, for old time sake.

So, I want to talk to you about this freshman we met, Charlie. I was the one that told him about you, I told him that if he ever wanted to talk someone other than his friends or family, that you would be happy to listen. You were always there for Patrick and I, so I knew you would be there for Charlie too. He told me a couple of weeks ago that he has been writing to you about his life and I told him that that was great. I'm sorry if he told you too much or made you uncomfortable, he doesn't really have a filter, he just kind of says what he feels and that's what's great about him. He doesn't care what other people think. he's been through a lot, as you know, so thanks for being there to listen to him, he needs that, I know he does. Just like Patrick and I did when we met four years ago.

Patrick and I saw Charlie on the first day of school, he was sitting alone in the back of the cafeteria and Patrick looked at me, and I looked at him and we knew, we just knew what we needed to do. It was exactly like our first day when we knew no one, we were the two outcasts from out of town, but you saw us and came over and said hi. And if our faces lit up as much as Charlie's did when we did the same thing to him as you did to us, I know what an amazing feeling you experienced that day. Someone actually noticed us and they were older too, that made it even better. We knew how good that felt, to finally feel accepted, wanted, so we made sure Charlie felt that way with us. From that day on, we sat him with him at lunch, took him to parties, and did all the stuff you did with us our first year of high-school. You really were great to us and I only hope Charlie felt the same way we felt towards you.

I wonder what would have happened if you hadn't come along. We were two losers who didn't fit in in the slightest, we still don't! But with you there we were accepted and we had a great first year at school, one I wish I could relieve again. And then you moved away for college and we didn't really hear from you again, but we still thought about you. Slowly, Patrick and I made our way up the popularity ranks, until we were near the top. But then things started to change, we hung out with different people, listened to different music, wore different clothes. And just as slowly as we had made our way up the food chain, we started to slip back down, but you know what? That was okay. We still had our friends, we still had each other and we still had everything you taught us: never care what anyone thinks, be your own person and don't let people control you. We followed your advice, and man was it hard, but it paid off in the end, we are both stronger people because of every obstacle we faced, and we must thank you for that. And now we've just finished our senior year and together, we did exactly what you did when you were our age, we helped a naive freshman get through his first year of school, and now I know he'll be just fine next year. Thanks again for all you've done for Patrick and I and for listening to Charlie, he really needed someone like you.

I really would like to get together sometime soon; to drive through the tunnel again, just to relieve the magic. And please believe that things are good with me and even when they aren't, they will be soon enough. And I will believe the same about you.

Love always,

Sam