And so I met my stranger..

In the July of 2013, I wrote a blog post by the title "Hi Stranger"

If you haven't read it (you should), it basically is me looking for this stranger in my life, a stranger that I have found. 

I found this stranger Fall semester of freshmen year at Soka. 

And THIS stranger was and has been beyond any other strangers I have met till now, and that is what makes him special, that is what makes him "the" stranger, my stranger...

This stranger came into my life and acquired the most special position in the weirdest, most casual and deepest way possible. 

He came in like the wind that rustled all the leaves in my landscape of life, but unlike the wind, my stranger chose to stay. He stayed and he still stays. 

The journey has been crazy since I met this stranger. We stayed up, unaware of the time, until early in the morning talking about all the things that mattered and all the things that didn't. There was a connection. Our energies reacted well with each other'

s.

We connected. And we have connected in the deepest way possible. Being able to share one of my best-kept worries with someone I just recently got acquainted with, is quite the deal. And since then, we have just created a deeper more beautiful connection. How beautiful is it to meet someone who still manages to thrill you, elevate you and inspire you. How beautiful is it to still be able to have conversations that uncover our deepest vulnerabilities, that make us that much more susceptible to pain and hurt, but, be fine. How beautiful is it to be share experiences/moments/memories with someone that seem nothing less than magical. 

My stranger lifted me up. My stranger gave me a hand that allowed me to lift myself up from my own box of miseries, insecurities, socializations and facades. My stranger challenges me, every day, all the time. My stranger lets me go on crazy adventures with myself full of struggle, fear and obstacles. However, my stranger is always there throughout and the end when I tire fighting or need the strength to fight. My stranger allows me to get to where I want to be, who I want to be. Most of all, my stranger reminds me the ways in which I already am there and am doing a great job. He lifts me up.

My stranger is strange. He does his own thing. He is the most complex and the easiest to understand. My stranger really does walk to the beat of his own drums - drums that he is playing. 

I have had the immense honor and joy of meeting such a person who would hold such a special position in my heart and in my life, which is beyond friendship and romance. 

I am happy that I was not afraid to say hi, because this has been a great journey till now. And I know, in the future as well, that it will continue being an amazing journey as we both discover ourselves in this wide and amazing universe, doing our own thing and finding our happiness. 

I know I wrote on the previous blog that I have met many amazing strangers during my time here. However, I write about this one because, for me, this stranger goes beyond all that. This stranger has created a really deep and beautiful space in my life for themselves. This stranger has just stood out in the most amazing, mysterious and beautiful ways that I cannot quite put words on. 

I am grateful, I am amazed, I am honored.

 Thank you for the strength, the belief, the confidence and the courage. Thank you, stranger, for letting me get comfortable with my wings because now we can fly together towards our own adventures. Thank you for showing me the power of my fins that let me tackle the ups and downs of my past, present and future life. 

And so I met my stranger... and thereon life has been an amazing revolutionizing journey.

Who is this stranger?

Say Hi to Drake Alvarez-Cates.