I want to start off by saying that this letter was the hardest for me to write because I have so much to say about you, but I’ll try to do it anyway.

When I first found out that we were related, I was very excited because you seemed like a pretty cool guy to get to know. Little did I know that you would become one of my closest friends. You are more than just a cousin to me, you are the older brother I never had. You have taught me so many life lessons that no one else could teach me.

You have shaped the way I view the world and made me want to be the best I can be. It is hard to follow in your foot steps because you have taken such wide strides. It’s so rare that you find someone who has so many things in common with yourself. And I don’t think that it was a coincidence that our paths crossed.

You have had such an impact on my life that words and money can never repay. George Burns once said “Happiness is having a large, loving, caring, close-knit family in another city.” When you leave Ohio and chase your dreams, I hope that you won’t forget to keep in touch with me. Meeting you has changed my life for the better in so many ways and I know that this is only the beginning of what will become a long friendship.

And while this letter will never be able to represent how much I care about you, I hope that it keeps you from feeling that I don’t.