Andrew Carlson changed the rules, trusted a stranger, and found someone who would change his life forever.
I didn’t always have the support I was looking for when I was growing up; but that was mostly my fault. I didn’t even let my mother know that I was moving to Los Angeles at the age of 19. I simply bought a plane ticket because I was “independent” and basically a gypsy. I couldn’t sit still for the life of me and I would move around from place to place. I never really stayed anywhere longer than 6 months after graduating high school.
I was big on the Twitter & YouTube scene back in 2010. I would video blog almost every day and I would easily make friends online. My fault is that I would trust every one that I came in contact with, no matter who they were, but I believe that’s why I met the man that would change my life forever. The one that taught me that there were good men out in the world and that one person can make a difference in someone else’s life.
The day after I announced that I was leaving for LA, this guy messaged me on Twitter saying he was just like me when he was my age. We ended up talking for the next 3 weeks about how scared I was to be venturing off on my own without any solid plans, living situation out here, and how to navigate through the LA jungle.
He asked me to give me my address for where I was staying; not thinking that this could have put me in a dangerous situation, I obliged. Shortly after, he messaged me saying that he had purchased a vehicle to pick me up at the airport and would drop me off at my new home. I was flabbergasted. I never met this man in my life, but he knew everything about me.
He was there through my breakup with the girl that I thought I was going to marry. Even though he knew I was settling for lower than mediocre, he was always supportive because no one else really was. When it ended, he was there right by my side telling me that it was an awful situation. Looking back now, it was more than awful. I was downright blinded by trying to “fix” someone.
He cried tears of happiness for me when I found the woman I wanted to share the rest of my life with. He can’t stop saying how beautiful she is or how beautiful of a person I have turned out to be.
On top of it all, he was still there when I went through all of my surgeries to correct the damage my defibrillator caused me when it shocked me uncontrollably. He tried his hardest to get back to America to visit me in the hospital but work kept him overseas, but he sent $100 worth of movie tickets to speed up my recovery through laughter.
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He was one of the few people that truly wanted to see me happy and successful at whatever I set my mind to. He would cry when I cried, he would laugh when I laughed, and he would hurt when I hurt. I never understood why, but we had this insane connection on a spiritual level that I’ll never forget. He was truly my guardian angel, looking over me making sure that life wasn’t as bad as it seemed.
I have never met someone more kind, self-less, and a beautiful soul all in one. He was my mentor through the darkest moments of my life, and now that I’m creating the life I’ve always desired, he’ll always be that one person who believed in me before I even believed in myself. We still talk almost every few weeks because of his crazy schedule overseas.
I just know that fateful day when we finally do meet in person; he’ll truly understand the impact he had on my life. After all, he is the reason why I went into the speaking industry: to make an impact on others when no one else can. He changed the way I look at the world and to this day, I’ll never be able to repay him for all he has done.
—Photo Rosaura Ochoa/Flickr
Also by Andrew Carlson:
3 Lessons About Manhood I Learned from Having Heart Disease
4 Simple Ways to Find Balance in an Unbalanced World
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