Wow

Hey Everyone

It has come to my understanding that although I have few readers, the people who do read matter the most to me.
So here I am back, with a new promise;
I'm not going to post everyday, I'm not going to post every week  but I will post at least every month.

Recently my good friend Peter Thompson passed away while on a paddling trip.
I've had a serious week of ups and downs between writing midterms, getting midterm marks, and of course struggling with the struggles every 20 year-old faces on a daily basis.
I've had unsurmountable support from friends, family, Dill's girlfriend, and even people in the paddling community I haven't met.
When I first heard the news I was in a bit of a mix up. It was last week at the Harvie Passage just before the race so I guess you could kind of imagine the mind set I was in.
Amazingly, I was able to paddle one of the best races I have ever paddled. It's funny how I always seem to paddle the best under the most silly circumstances.

After the race I was able to go home and do some thinking. I sat on the phone for quite sometime chatting with friends and checking in on everyone.
One conversation with a friend really sticks out for me though. She was the first one who really just let me sit and say nothing. She did a lot of talking and didn't ask me much. She knew what I was going through, and all she did was give me a few words of comfort and of course reminded me I wasn't alone.
It was hard.
I always thought I would be prepared for something like this. After watching my brother go through his horrid loss, I always thought I would be okay.
Well, of course, I wasn't and still not really okay.
Between this time I received a failing mid term mark, wrote a midterm, and studied for another mid term that I later learned isn't until next week.
But finally, I was able to get a short and rather lame text message conversation in with Roxanne. I really wish it was over the phone but it was better then nothing.
She reminded me to not mourn Peter. He would be furious if he found out I was this upset and stressed out about it all. He would only want me to sit and remember all the good times we had.
It's funny when I think about it, but I truly only ever had good times with Peter. There was never a moment of dispute or argument between us. We never put each other down, even in the friendly sarcastic way that friends do. He always had a smile on his face and never had a bad thing to say about anyone. He was the type of friend you could always count on, no matter the situation.
He was also the friend that if you called him to go paddle, bike, hike, climb, ski, hang out, go for a beer, get some food, or anything he would be there in a heartbeat.

Today Mom and I are driving up to Camp Chief Hector for his memorial service. I'm not sure what to expect.
I'm expecting to see a number of friendly faces of all the people Peter touched in his life. Trust me, if you are one of those people, I personally would consider yourself lucky.

I guess what I am getting at with this post is, there isn't enough time in life to neglect the things you love. Whether it's your family, friends, photography, guitar, video games, or anything like that. Always do what makes you happy. If there is anything Peter taught me, it's that.
So, I am going to write more because I do enjoy it. I'm going to get back to making little videos, I'm going to work harder on the water, and off. I owe it to Peter.

If their's a will, their's a way. Peter lived his life that way, and I intend to try.

My heart goes to his family.

I saw someone post on Peter's wall and I really liked what he said. Don't rest in peace Peter, keep charging hard wherever you are and find your own peace.

Rest well my friend.