Happy Valentine's Day

I would like to extend my best wishes of a very happy Valentine's Day to all. Hope all is well in your respective worlds!
This Valentine's Day is one with mixed emotions for me, as February 14th was the birthday of one of my very dear friends who passed away this summer in a very violent and tragic car accident. For his memory I will post here an essay that he wrote as his "Mission Statement" for life:
"I love my life. I love laughing with my friends until we lay gasping for every breath. I love sitting with my brother on a cool granite cliff the juts out of a lush emerald hill, watching the last dying rays of a sunset reflect off of a river hundreds of feet below, talking about philosophy and God.
I love the sanctity and compassion I feel with my knees touching the padding while I kneel in a pew, rosary in hand, admiring and praising my Lord. I love the feeling of adrenaline flowing through my veins when I fly off of a cliff, falling into oblivion. To attempt to quantify my life would be impossible, for I exist in a uniquely qualified state, thus a mission statement would inevitably fail me. I do not live my life for a purpose, rather, I attempt to live my life with purpose. I want to embrace every emotion, every experience, every conquest, and hold it close to my soul. I want to hold it so close that every moment becomes a part of me, defining me by my passion for life and my exuberance to be a part of my life, instead of sitting idle and watching it pass like a faceless stranger on a crowded city street. My unbridled sense of self, as well as my love of community, comes from a childhood that structured my idea of love as this: Love your God above all, love your family with trust and loyalty, love your friends with compassion, and love yourself with respect. Through this principle, I have been able to enjoy life as a type of journey through stages of love. I suppose if I had to define my purpose that would be as close as I could come. My mission is to love, be loved, and eventually find the greatest love of all: a life everlasting, Amen."
-Jacob Allyn Beck
October, 2005

Thank you for everything! I love you all from the bottom of my heart!
Nick