Beautiful

I don't know if you have ever met someone who is beautiful. I don't mean fake beauty that can be created by make-up, hairstyles, diets, surgery and clothes. No, I mean the beauty that resonates from within. A beauty that makes everyone else around them smile, a beauty that shows a constant joy. Ryan was beautiful.

Ryan came to camp last summer alongside hundreds of other children, but unlike the rest of them, Ryan's eyes will never escape my mind. Ryan was young, 7 or 8 maybe. He had these bright blue eyes, and naturally bleached hair. Ryan walked with a limp, but once you knew him his faults were part of what made him so beautiful. Ryan was in my drama class, I am not quite sure now if drama was what we were supposed to be teaching but that is what it became. Our skit for that week was a mixture of different scenes of plays, including Romeo and Juliet, and the Titanic. To no surprise of anyone, Ryan captivated us with his wonderful Romeo and passionate Jack. I remember Ryan dressing the characters, wearing one of his cabin leaders shirts that made him look completely ridiculous, until we tucked it into his pants and gave him suspenders, he looked amazing. In his slightly slurred voice he would express the most beautiful sounding "I'll save you Rose, let me get my water wings!" that I will ever hear. He was amazing, and I only wish that I will become half the person that he was. Thank you Ryan, I cannot tell you how much you have influenced my life. I am rather jealous of the angels who are spending time with him now.


"I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children." Matthew11:25