Dear Harry,

For the last 20 years, I have had the pleasure of knowing my best friend Harry. Harry and myself have had ups and downs just like any friends have, but I don’t think there’s a single person in my life that I can write about who I’ve known this long besides him. I consider Harry a brother. To my family, he is family, just as though we are related by blood. The saying that, “blood is thicker than water” well that notion to me, does not apply here. I met Harry when I moved to Falls Church, Virginia, I was about 4 or so. I was new to the area and I had no friends. I didn’t have many friends in the place I lived in before either. That's when I met Harry, and for the most part we got along pretty well. Harry liked the same sort of tanks and military stuff I did when I was a kid, and so during lunch or recess we would talk about all the cool video games and toys we had. Eventually, we started hanging out more. Harry growing up had a stutter, and I had a learning disability- If you met him now, you wouldn’t have the slightest idea, but growing up, we got picked on and bullied even, for different reasons, but we bonded over this. People would often make fun of my weight, or other things like the fact that we were considered to be “special education students” I had a lot of anger issues growing up, but harry kept me in check, and I had his back. I’d make sure the kids who said mean things would stop. We grew older, and finally made it to elementary school- this is where we started become best friends.

As we grew up in the same grade, he always had birthday parties in September, and in elementary school, birthday parties were a measure of how popular you were. Harry and I often got invited to the same birthday parties growing up. These are years I will always cherish. Into adulthood, I thought, "Wow how complicated things have become, life is just so different!" In a lot of ways- things haven’t changed much. I still have your back to this day and I don’t think anything can change that. I remember still the bike rides to DC, when we went to go see the inauguration of President Obama. I remember who was at my graduation from boot camp. I remember who was there when I had no one else, I remember that you have been there, and all this time I thought I was the one who had your back, but we have looked out for each other. Even when I moved away, that still didn't break our friendship. We are adults now, our lives might be drastically different, but my feelings towards you have not changed. You are my brother, and I will always have your back. Harry- I know you’ve been going through a tough time recently. I know that it’s been difficult to make sense of all the sadness and pain in your life. I can’t tell you it will be easier from here on out, but I can promise you that I have your back through all of this and beyond. Hang in there my friend, because, just like with all the other hardships we’ve been through, you and me, we’re going to look back on this and smile. These are the moments of our lives that define who we are, and I know the kind of man you are. You are a great man, and it is truly a privilege to have known you all these years. Thank you for helping shape my childhood into something better than I ever thought possible.

Sincerely,
Jose Sugastti