To Whom It May Concern,

For the longest time I swore never get too personal on this thing. But in light of recent events, I've got no choice to send one lasting message to everyone who cares - and those who don't.

The past few months have been stranger than most, and possibly the best time of my life. Nothing complements the end of an era better than knowing that it's never coming back. Watching friendships grow as time struggles to weaken our bonds pushed us closer together than I could have ever dreamed, and the time we've spent together, knowing that the end was looming was unforgettable. I know I could've been a better friend to most, and I'll be the first to admit that I've been the lucky recipient of friendships that I really didn't deserve to have, but knowing that time has made it too late to change, all I can do now is thank each and everyone of you for giving me the ultimate gift. You've given me something to remember - something from which to draw a smile. When I'm old and gray and can't quite move as I once did, I can remember the routines of high school, I can remember the smiles, the high fives, the laughs, and homework, the deadlines, and the "artificiality" that right now seems the most real thing I've ever encountered. When life gets though I can remember the hugs, the hand shakes, the fights, the drama, the first days, and these our last days. I apologize to everyone I've alienated over the years - it wasn't my intention, and if it prevented a friendship from taking place, I hope you can find it within yourself to think back and consider the possibilities.

Memory is all it ever would be, and memory is all it is. I've been left with the memory of seeing my closest friends crowd a basement to surprise me on my birthday. I've been left with the memory of playing poker into the earliest hours of the morning, spending time with an extraordinary group of people. Yeah, I know that college shouldn't sound the death of friendship, but if I don't say this now, I might never. As we move our separate ways, leaving each other with a screen name and a phone number, and as the hands of time seem eternally pitted to be our end, what's left? Memory. As it was happening, I never understood the whole "best time of your life" cliche generally associated with high school. Now that's it over, that's easily the understatement of the millennium. Here we are in limbo between the end and the beginning, and it seems as if it never started. I want nothing more than to live one day of high school with my attitude towards it now. I'd show people how much I cared for them, and I'd give time a little more respect.

Either way, it's probably best that we leave it all behind. We'll go out on top - the way it should be. I wouldn't change the fights, the drama, the imperfections. No one can live with perfection, and we'd have nothing to smile about if we couldn't forget the frowns. I thank you all for giving me something to smile about and friendships to never forget. We've come a long way together, some closer than others, but if you're close to one, you're close to all. And as I close this message, you should all know - I wouldn't have it any other way.

Thanks for everything,

Sean