An open letter To the Boy Who Had it Right.

October 2, 2015 3 Comments by Taylor Johnson Pick Me Ups

To the boy who had it right,

When I was in high school, I met a boy who I didn’t know at the time would change my life. I wish I could tell you we grew to be the best of friends or something extremely spectacular and out of this world, but I can’t. His name was Isaac. He was kind, giving, and at most times lead by example and not by words. My friend Isaac was diagnosed with brain cancer during his senior year. At the time of his diagnoses, I only knew him from our quick ‘heys’ through the hallways and his strange relationship with one of my close friends. As time passed, he grew into a friend that could only be described as my “home run” of all friends. The thing is this isn’t about Isaac’s journey through brain cancer, because the truth is, he never became Isaac with brain cancer to me. Until the day he past and even days after he brought smiles to the faces he encountered and changed life only for the better, including my own. Look at me; here I am at 3 AM writing about the boy who is no longer with us but still encompassing my thoughts with positive effects.

As I laid down, I picked up my phone to send yet another mass snap chat out and found my finger hovering over my old friend Isaac’s name. My thoughts ran wild and soon I found myself shoveling out the old memories of the boy who had it right. Isaac was one of a kind. He was the one of a kind that would egg you on to throw burritos and flour at your friends and very own car but pay for your car wash afterwards. He was the boy who would go to the scary movie “Conjuring” with you and set your alarm to the haunting hour of 3:07 AM for an entire year afterwards. He was the type of man who even on his hardest days in his battle would share his favorite homemade cookies with you. He was the type of guy who would stop everything he was doing to grab a quick bite of Qdoba and talk about anything from the baseball game you never watched to the time he videoed your burrito freak out. He was the type of person who would spend his make-a-wish on granting a little leagues dream of playing a sport they loved but lacked the means to make it happen. The boy who had one wish, and spent it buying bats, helmets, catcher equipment, and uniforms so the young boys with bright futures could take a hit at the sport he held so dear to his heart. He was the boy who kept giving when all life did was take. He was the man, we all found that “if I can be half the person he was, I’ll be happy” saying come to life.

Isaac was never my best friend, but he was a dear friend none the least. He had the ability to make everyone around him feel loved, but he did it in his own way and on his own terms. He was funny, sarcastic, and nothing but himself. As I sit here remembering the man he was, I smile at the lessons he taught all whom had the opportunity to meet his unique soul. Being around Isaac, was always a breath of fresh air and a lesson in itself. As he struggled, he still made time to be the friend we all want and dream to have one day. He made jokes, laughed, and continued his life until the moment God brought him home. He made the type of friends, who even when he was too sick to be the Isaac we all knew and loved, never left his side. I sit here telling you all about an amazing kid who changed the life of so many because we all could learn from the boy who got it right.

He got it right because he knew that life was not to be taken for granted. He taught me how to see the world as it was but to know that we have all the power in our hands to make it better. He taught me that even in our greatest struggles we can bring light into the world, and that’s exactly what he chose to do. He got it right because unlike most of us he knew how to live. For so long, I forgot that message. Like most of my generation, I find myself more worried about capturing my life rather than living in the moment. When I look back, it’s not the pictures I captured but the hearts I touched that stand out so vividly in my Kodiak memories.

I thank God for introducing me to the boy who had it right, because as Isaac has been home for quite some time now, his effect on this world still stands true. He taught the power of impact and the importance of being the best version of yourself no matter what’s going on in your own world. I wish for all of you to know that you were sent to this world to make it better. You were sent to be an essential piece to this insane world that gives courage to those who fly by throughout your adventure in life. Without you the world is nothing but less than it should be. You are far more important than you see.  I can only wish that you open your eyes enough to see that impacting those around you with your truest self is the greatest gift you could give to people in this world. My friend Isaac taught me that, not by words, but by actions. As my finger hovered over his name for the millionth time,  I was reminded of his pro-founding authentic lifestyle and found my fingers tapping the keyboard for the first time in months. For all I know my old friend is watching me from above laughing at the words I type and locked and ready to spit out a sarcastic remark, none the less, this ones for him.

Isaac may have been taken way too fast from this world, but he didn’t leave without getting the main thing right. He learned to give. He learned to love. He learned to be himself. Most importantly he learned to touch the lives he encountered in a genuine 100% Isaac Kodiak way. As Isaac’s legacy lives on, I can only hope that the world finds a way to live a little more and capture a little less. As you and I soak in the story of my old friend, I hope you see the glass half full, because one thing I know for certain, life is only what you make it. So for now I delete my mass snap, look up from the bright screen in front of me and search to find a little piece of Isaac in all of you.

With a lot of Love & an Inspired heart,

An old friend.

Cover Photo taken from one of Isaac’s greatest friends, Eliza Heptner Instagrams. Thank you Eliza.

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