People: Brandon Downum

I have been out of college for two years now. A lot of people have impacted me in those two years and I figure that it is high time that I start to tell them how they make me feel. I am focusing primarily on the people that I did not get a chance to thank in college but have left their imprint on me since. I have no target number to compete, but I need to inform people that they have loved. Considering that I have grown less emotional since college, this project does pose its problems; have grace on me please. This post is about my quirkiest friend, Brandon Downum.

D, I have known you for several years, but the last two of them are when I have really known you well. To say that I needed you last year would be a gross understatement. I so very much needed your friendship last year and the fact that we were able to get close has been a huge blessing. I do not think that many people have really taken the time to get to know you, but that is to their detriment. You are someone who is a good friend to his friends and is also aware of his own faults. You have shown a willingness to come and meet people where they are at. People generally know you as 'that quirky guy,' but I have had the blessing to know beyond that. When I think of you I think of someone who has always been willing to make me laugh, and while I do think you are funny, you have been able to make me laugh because you know me well and know what makes me laugh. Your pursuit of me has been a big blessing too because there are so many people that I always have to chase after that having someone who returns it, even just a little, is huge for me.
You are more than just a quirky guy Brandon. You are someone who struggles, who loves, and who enjoys life. Although you do not like confrontation, you are always able to see the lighter side of life in a culture where light and joy are drowned out amidst a cacophony of complaints and thanklessness. You are not perfect and you never will be, but you clearly know that are working for it. It is that side of you which makes me excited for what God is going to do in you in the coming years. I can see you becoming a man Brandon, but one who will not lose that vital sense of childlike wonder that is so integral in how you see the world. That is a treasure and I encourage you to stoke it, even as you layer onto it maturity and grace.
Understand why I tell you all of this: I love you and I will miss you so much when you leave. You are someone who has been a real friend to me and you have shared with me much that I believe has been hidden from others. As well, you, more so than perhaps any of the friends that I have ever had, share so many great lines with me.
"Is there no decency" "I'll do it" "We shan't be telling your mother about this, shan't we" and so many more. D, thank you for being my friend at times when I have really needed it and enjoying life with me on many levels.