I often say that the most important thing in my life is my friends.
And I’m pretty fortunate to have many friends in many different places.
A few months back, I lost a dear friend, Matt Ryd, when he took his own life. Someone who I was close with but regret not being even closer with.
Since moving to Chicago in 2007, I’ve found myself in a beautiful community of nerds, artists, comedians, and musicians.
One of the central figures of this community was Matt. We met through mutual friends, he welcomed me in with open arms, and we became friends. I’d look forward to seeing him at his shows or other ones in the community.
Now, suddenly he’s gone.
Since he left, our quirky little community has banded together around his loss. We’ve put together three concerts in his name to raise money and awareness for causes he found dear.
Even departed, he still sits in the center. In losing Matt, I’ve discovered a lot about myself and found some great new friends in the process. And I don’t think I’m alone in this. While I’d give anything to have him back, this is proof that every cloud has a silver lining.
Thanksgiving was a few days ago, and various friends of mine were posting the things they were grateful for in their Facebook statuses.
I simply posted:
“I’m grateful for you.”
I mean it. Especially you though, Matt.
Thank you.