Whether you are still here in this world or not, it has sadly become uncertain to me. Nonetheless, your presence in my mind and heart is still vivid and stronger than ever before. Today as I was riding a train back home, I thought of you and wondered where you could possibly be. The only thing I had on the train that kept reminding me of you was the book you gave me and never read. You probably didn't know at the time but I have never been much of a reader. Since I was a little kid, I have always been a sporty guy and I never really got too much into reading. However, today I felt different, I felt a sudden and unexpected need to answer several important questions regarding my future such as, "what will I do after college?", "will I get a good job?" and most importantly, "will I be happy doing that job?". You could say that "the middle age crisis" hit me pretty hard.
As I tried to find a plausible answer for all these questions, I remembered you and tried to come up with a solution as to how could I live such an exemplary life like you did. This thought made me think of all the possible things I could potentially do in order to live a successful and happy life. After a long time thinking and failing to picture what could I do differently, I finally decided to pick up the book you gave me and look for some kind of answer there. Unsurprisingly, after reading half of the book in one sitting, I actually did find some kind of guidance in the book. The main character of the book was pretty much a young adult who was clueless about his future and lost in some place in Italy. As I kept reading, I could not believe how similar the main character and I were. In fact, it made me remember the exact moment I met you; at a hotel's restaurant in Denver watching some football.
When I met you I was uneasy and I did not know what to think of you. Since you were so nice since the very beginning I thought you might have wanted to take advantage of me or something; however, the more time I spent talking with you, the more I learned about life and myself. At the time, your kindness seemed a little too strange for me. I mean the first day I met you, you gave me a couple of subway cookies, and on the second day you brought me an XL (extra large) lacrosse shirt and said you bought it on that size on purpose just so I could never grow out of it. You really can't say this was not a little creepy. However, throughout the course of just a few days, I learned so much from you and I unfortunately think I never got to tell you. Thus, in this letter, whether you get to read it or not, I would like to show appreciation for all of those valuable lessons you taught me.
Thank you for teaching me how valuable it is to always give it your "all" in any important task. Ever since you spoke to me about hard work, I have never failed to do anything I have genuinely put my mind to. Thank you for cheering me up and believing in me. The fact that you believed in me more than what I believed in myself, inspired me and allowed me to see something in myself I had not seen before: potential. Thank you for all the letters, and gifts. They always reminded me that I could count on you for anything. Thank you for all your tips. Ever since you taught me how to become a better and wiser young man, I've been able to continuously take bigger steps towards becoming the person I want to become.
Finally, and most importantly, thank you for your friendship. Till this day, I thank God that He put you in my life. Ever since I left Denver, the spot where we met, you did not stop sending me letters, shirts, and books in order for me to invest more on myself. This only tells me how great of a man you are or were. You saw something good in me that I had not seen in myself, and for that I thank you. Even though I haven't gotten a letter from you in the past two years, I still believe, whether you are still with us or not, that you are someway or another watching over me and constantly reminding me through my memories of our time together that I have to constantly strive to become a better person than the one I was yesterday.
For all this I thank you, Coach Mac, wherever you are, I wish you nothing but the absolute best because you indeed changed my life.
Much Love,
Emilio :).