Where would you be?

I don’t know about you, or anyone else for that matter, but I’m pretty sure no one gets anywhere in life by themselves. I could be wrong, but I really don’t think I am. I know for a fact that I would not be who I am today without the people I’ve met over the past six years. I wouldn’t be half the person I am today without the close friends I have and have had before.

A little over six years ago, I attended a car show at a Volkswagen dealership with my cousin, Stephen. It may sound corny to you, but my life changed that day. That day truthfully opened so many doors for me. I’ve met a countless number of genuine, down to earth, good people throughout the past six years. Some of those people may have come and gone, but I know I will never forget them. Some of my friends that aren’t in the “car scene” if you will, don’t really get it. I find myself trying to explain it to them sometimes, but I then usually realize that it hardly makes sense to me. It’s an amazing thing that the cars are always what brings us together, but the friendships are what holds us together.

I’ll be honest. Where I live, there’s not much to do. Sometimes, I hate it, along with everyone else that lives here. On the other hand though, I’ve come to realize that I probably have just as much fun as anyone else in this world. Why? Because of my friends. Who cares if there’s nothing to do? We’ll find something. And if we don’t, we’ll sit around at someone’s house or sit in Josh Taylor’s garage, chill all night, and have an awesome time doing it.

Yeah, that’s Josh’s garage. Well, part of it. I’ve spent plenty of nights in this garage, and it never gets old. Whether Josh is working on his shaved bay LS-V Integra, or helping friends work on their cars, he consistently says “the garage is always open!” Josh is one of my good friends. He’s one of the people I was talking about in the beginning. You know, the ones that I don’t know where I’d be without. Josh is always down to lend a hand. You might have to buy him Zaxby’s chicken for dinner after he’s done helping, but he is always down to lower your car or help you simply keep your car on the road. This 19-year-old knows more about cars than most adults. Did I mention he took on the challenge of fully shaving that bay above on his own, never having done body work before? There isn’t one hole left in that bay and every wire is completely tucked out of sight. The S2000 seats, JDM front end, and rebuilt BBS RS’ finish the car off rather nice, if I do say so myself.

Wait, another four-door Integra on rebuilt and color matched RS’? Yep. This one is owned by Brandon Tedeschi though. He’s another one of those people I was talking about in the beginning. I’ve known Brandon since 9th grade and the kid never fails to make me laugh. In fact, he never fails to make anyone laugh. If you’ve been lucky enough to meet the kid, you know what I mean. Brandon is another person I’m lucky enough to call a friend, another person I don’t know where I’d be without.

I find myself sitting here writing all this shortly after Thanksgiving, and to be honest I think that’s the only reason I am writing this. Once again, may sound corny to you, and I don’t really care if it does, but I’m thankful for these two dudes and everyone else that I’m lucky enough to have in my life. Brandon and Josh are just two of the many genuine people that I’m lucky enough to call friends. I suppose the point of this is simple; I hope everyone is thankful for the friends they have. That’s what it’s really about; the friendships, great times with great friends. That’s what really matters.

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