The “it” series of my youth. 

I received a message from one of my childhood best friends last night about a mutual friend who left us too soon. I hadn’t kept in touch with him for more than a decade, but she said something about days past that really struck a chord. I remember how sweet and kind he was, even though I just got to know him one summer.

To me, my Wonder Years was that one crazy, fateful summer when life finally really started to take shape: first loves, summer crushes and precious friendships, dancing in the driveway, taquitos snacks, becoming welcomed to a new family, and dancing to the Spice Girls. It was when life was so much simpler. We were getting ready for our freshman year of college and our biggest concerns were what classes to register for, and if we were living in the same dorms.

I don’t know how he passed away, but that doesn’t really matter. RIP, Ryan. I know you’re smiling down on all of us. Thanks for making some of the most awkward stages of my life a little more easier, a little bit brighter.

“When you’re a kid, you’re a bit of everything: Scientist, Philosopher, Artist. Sometimes it seems like growing up is giving these things up one at a time.” – The Wonder Years