So many somethings

My friend Toni just blogged about a statement she made last Saturday while we toured Camden Catholic High School. One of the other alumni asked her what activities she took part in at school and Toni replied, "I did nothing."

Toni, you may never been on a roster, donned a cheerleader's uniform or been President of the Student Government. You may not have gone to the cool parties, sat at the popular table in the lunchroom or drove a hot car. And perhaps you were a scared kid and felt like a nothing.

But you were so many somethings to me.

You were my breath of fresh air in a place and time that didn't appreciate going against the grain. You thought differently, you saw a bigger world, you appreciated the differences in the few people that dared to be themselves, rather than taking comfort in the conformity of the majority.

You had a laugh like no other...it was infectious and made me laugh no matter how horrible my day.

You were (and are) beautiful, yet never saw it in yourself. I still remember how you talked with your hand in front of your mouth because you hated your braces. If you only realized how lovely you were.

You celebrated my crazy haircuts, dramatic dress and Doc Martin fetish.

And when you moved, part of me was lost. You were gone. Your voracious laugh ceased echoing through the halls. You weren't sitting next to me in Chorale, getting in trouble for putting on makeup. You weren't there when my best friend walked away from me and my broke my heart. You didn't sleep over the night of graduation and stay up all night with me and Diane watching John Hughes movies. Your absence was greatly felt because you were never nothing.

You did so much. You were all the little somethings that make two people friends.