Paul Liriano

I never quite gave this one enough credit.

I chased a lot of things in high school—especially people. I had an unexplainable need for certain people to see me. I don’t know why I wanted it. I’m not sure why I needed it, but for some reason, I thought I did. So that’s what I focused on. I did everything in my power to get what I thought I wanted, and in time, I began to miss what was right in front of me.

Paul Liriano has truly been there through it all. We’ve always been friends, but we’ve never been as close as we are now, and that was all on me. That was time I wasted on other things and other people that I could’ve spent building a lasting friendship with someone that seemed to get me, even when I didn’t get myself.

He’s always known better, seen better. While I ran around in circles, not sure of who I was or what I wanted out of life, he stayed constant. Paul always reached out to me, because somehow he knew that I needed someone to tell me that whatever love or confirmation that I craved. I wouldn’t find it in the shadows I searched in.

I constantly find myself looking to him to convince myself that everything’s going to be okay. Paul carries people. He’s always been my go to when I needed someone to talk about life with. He always seemed to have the right answers; and when he didn’t, he was always willing to help me find them.

Paul is the the Valley's anchor; he holds everything in place. Without him, it feels as if the Valley’s lost its balance, its center, and every little thing that keeps it from falling apart. He keeps us all together. He supports us and carries us.

Paul is one of the people in my life that I never want to lose, ever. He's been there to keep me smiling for a few years now, and the years that he's blessed my life with his presence have been some of my favorites. He makes it so easy to love him. From all of the jokes he makes to the meaningful things he says when you get him to be serious for a moment. He's one of the kindest, funniest, most intelligent guys I've met, and he always will be.

He means so much to so many people, including me (not gonna lie, it's mostly me and I'll actually fight anyone who disagrees). It's a common thing to break your heart into pieces and give each broken piece to someone in your life that you hope will bring all of it back together, and that's honestly what Paul has done for me. I gave him a piece of my heart without even realizing it and having him around has changed my life for the best.

I’ve known better, I’ve seen better, but only because he decided to show me. Whatever light I was destined to find, he led me to it. Paul knew me before I even attempted to know myself, and I think that’s why, in my earlier years, when I was nowhere near the person I was meant to be, he still chose to be around me. He saw me not for who I was, but who I am now.

This is what carries us. Those people who skip to the end of story, no matter how broken or damaged the beginning is. These are the people we should lift up; the ones that carry us when we’d drown without them.

Life is as vast as the ocean, and in order to fight the waves and keep our heads above water, we need an anchor. And that’s all that Paul has ever been to me.