His name is Ryan Trost. 

Ryan was a friend of mine in high school. Not my best friend. Not the kind of friend that I hung out with all the time on weekends or after school. Ryan was my friend in the way you just become friends with the people you see in school everyday. We sat next to each other in class, he would correct the careless mistakes I made on my French homework, tell jokes that no one was witty enough to understand, and excitedly tell me random bits of information that no one else would know. 

Most of all, however, Ryan was a musician and songwriter, and on the three year anniversary of him being gone, I would like to honor him the best way I know how by talking about his music. 

The first time I ever heard Ryan sing was in French class. My teacher was always a fan of making us sing peppy French songs, and "Aux Champs Elysee" by Joe Dassin was a class favorite. Anyway, not only was Ryan the loudest and most impressive at pronouncing the French perfectly when singing, but his favorite thing to do was be a human saxophone during the instrumental breaks. Needless to say I didn't take him very seriously (not that that's what he was aiming for).

But when the school's annual talent show rolled around, I became aware of just how seriously I should have taken Ryan as a songwriter and performer. The song he sang was "Reign, Reign Go Away." It sounded simple. Just Ryan standing behind the microphone, holding his acoustic guitar in a Bob Dylan-like fashion, but it was nothing short of amazing. The words were full of dark imagery, telling the story of a storm and ship wreck. But despite the less than cheerful theme of the song, he still somehow got the entire audience singing and laughing with him. No one could help but love him when he was on stage.

Unfortunately I only saw Ryan perform a few times at school events and, therefore, never was able to appreciate him for the musician he was while he was alive. I didn't fully grasp how passionate and talented he was with music. I don't know if he would have ever been some famous rock star or the next big songwriter, but I do know that he brought something special to our school and town through his music. While there were other great singers, musicians, and songwriters in school, no one did it like Ryan. Because Ryan was not only just an incredible songwriter, but an all around incredible person--unique, funny, friendly, and caring. 

Besides our loving memories, what we have left of Ryan is his music. Luckily he left us "King of the Wild Things," an album of some of his original songs. Whenever I'm thinking of Ryan, I listen to these songs and remember the tall, lanky boy with the John Lennon long hair and leather jacket who made us all laugh, sing along, and brought us together with his music.

"Hold me like you'll never see my face again,
Don't ever let go util the end."
-To Whomever it May Concern (This Letter Goes to No One)

From the first time I saw Ryan perform. "Reign, Reign Go Away"