In the world we live in today, we tend to overlook many things. We tend to overlook how good some of us have it. We tend to hate on things like school and claim how much we don't want to go, but we never really look at how privileged we are to be able to receive an education. We tend to overlook that most of us may not come from a rich family or the most picture perfect household, but we're fortunate to have a roof over our head with heat in the winter and air conditioning in the summer. We tend to overlook so many things in life. We tend to look at the negatives more than the positives, the things I don't have opposed to the things I do have. One thing I seem to overlook more than anything is my relationships with people. In the world we live in today, we're surrounded by so much violence and negativity that most of us don't let someone know how much they mean to us. You ever had one friend that would go out of his/her way for you? That they would drop everything they were doing at that moment in time, just to help you in your time of need? It can be a best friend, a sibling, it could even be your parents. Now think about that one person, that one special person that would go to war with you or for you. Do they know how you truly feel about them? If they were to leave this earth today would they know how much they meant to you?

Lately as I’ve been growing up more and thinking of things differently, this is a question I ask myself daily. If you're reading this article and you know who I am, then you know I can be a jerk at times or even cold-hearted. I can be the nicest person in the world and put you first over everything else, but if you do me wrong I can become the worst person you've ever met. With that being said, as I grow up I want to change that. I feel as if we live in a world with too much arguing, whether it’s over something like politics or religion or just something obsolete. We live in a world that just about every day now when I turn on the TV, I see some sort of protest or riot that leads to more violence and division between people. As the people in this world become more and more distant from one another, I tend to look at my own life and the people that are in it. The question I have been asking myself daily is, do the people in my life really know how much they mean to me? If today was their last day, would I be able to tell myself they knew how much I loved them? As much as I can try and convince myself that “Oh yeah, they know” I truthfully know they don't know. I seem to overlook the privileges I have. One being that I have some amazing people in my life that would honestly die for me. Not everyone can say that. I have some of the best friends on this planet and to the people reading this article, you can probably say the same thing. Now think to yourself, do they know that?

You see, I had this friend in high school. He was a funny guy man. He was different; he was not like my other friends. We had grown up together and played ball together since we were in the second grade. We went to the same elementary school, as well as middle and high school. He was someone that I could rely on 100 percent of the time. He was the type of person that if I was having a bad morning, I could walk to school, see his smile, and hear his voice and it would put a smile on my face. We pushed each other to be better. He was a true friend to me and he accepted me for who I was, but he also wanted to push me to make me the best person I could be. We pushed one another on and off the field. He would support me on anything I tried to do. He supported me on music when no one else did -- when even I knew it was terrible. He supported me playing sports and would make me get in an extra workout with him just to get better. He was somebody that I could call up if I was about to get into a fight and he was there before I could hang up the phone. He was that guy, he was the guy. He would back me up in a fight or an argument even when he knew I was 100 percent in the wrong, but he did so because we treated one another like family and if you're coming after one of us you're going through both of us. He was that type of friend that no matter how old you two got when y’all were together you were still kids at heart doing childish things. We would go sleigh riding when it snowed, jumping hills into parking lots. He would pull into a parking lot of a business after it snowed in his truck just to doughnuts and “turn 'em loose.” He was the type of friend that climbed through my kitchen window while I was sleeping and when I woke up the next day in my room confused, I wouldn't question it because he needed a place to stay and my house was his house. As many of y'all may know, and for the ones who don't know, in my senior year of high school, on April 23rd he passed away in a horrible car accident. When I got the call on that night that there had been a car accident and I knew he was involved, I texted him to make sure he was okay, not knowing the extent of the wreck. I watched the message as it said delivered on my iPhone. Ten minutes later, I received a call telling me he had passed. I’ll never forget the feeling that went through me. It felt as if I had been cut in half. At first, I didn't believe it, so like many people in my community I rushed to the hospital to find out what was really going on. There I found out that my friend, a brother and a teammate had passed away on April 23rd, 2016.

As time went on, it became easier some days, harder than they had been, but it became easier knowing he was in a better place and God had called him home. This is where my question comes in. The paragraph before I listed all the things we would do and memories we had and the things he would do for me. While reading that, you probably assumed he knew how much I loved and cared for him. Well I can only hope he does. You see, I was so privileged with our friendship I overlooked him. I overlooked all the things he did for me; not once did I ever take five seconds out of my day just to send him a text just to let him know how much he meant to me. He knew I was there for him as much as he was there for me, but I never told him how much I cherished and loved him. You see, they say you don't realize what you have until it's gone, and man is that the case. You see, when we were both freshman staying up all night, walking to the supermarket, playing video games and cracking jokes I never knew that by the time I graduated high school, he wouldn't be on this earth anymore. I never thought that our times and memories would be cut short by an unfortunate event. So now when I send him a text just to let him know how much he means to me, or when I pray or look up to the sky at night just to talk to him, I have to hope he hears me and hopes he knows. The last words I ever said to him was the Friday before he passed. He told me he would see me this weekend and he was going to pick me up. Little did I know the next night I would get the call.

I am telling this to the world, not for people to feel bad for me and tell me it is going to be okay, but so that YOU, the readers, can see what you have in front of you. Imagine being in this position. Imagine having a friend you grew up with, a special friend that would do anything for you and vise verse, do they know how much they mean to you? Have you taken the time out of your day to send them a text or give them a call just to let them know you appreciate them and the friendship you have with them and that you love them? Maybe it’s a friend you had and right now y'all aren't on speaking terms or you guys claim to hate each other right now. Can you find it in you to put it aside and tell them how much you love them? Can you find it in you to tell them that you are sorry for whatever reason you aren't on speaking terms, but that you love them and are always there for them? I don’t care if it’s your mom, your dad, brother, sister, friend etc. I don't care if you speak on a daily basis or haven't spoken in the longest time imaginable. Call them, text them, go see them and let them know how much you love and care for them. They say you don't know what you have until it's gone. If the person or people you're thinking about right now were to not see another day, would they know how much they meant to you?

Love you my man. Rest in peace Dylan James Ballard.