Dear Family Member,

It’s hard to believe that we’ve known each other for nine years now. It feels more like five years than nine. That’s how much fun & a blessing this journey has been for me. I’m so grateful that we crossed paths.

To think, it all started by meeting each other on a website called Christianity Oasis.

After messaging other members & being in a good mood, I almost logged off that site for today, but, for some reason, I decided to hang around a little longer.

So I stayed looking at a quiet chatroom for several minutes. And then you arrived. I thought one of the other members would say something to speak to you, but, no one was typing.

”Hello?”, you said

Still nothing from no one else. So, finally, I replied back, just to make you feel welcomed. Just from our first interaction, I could sense you were a really kind person. Plus, I was glad to make you laugh too.

We would chat a few more times on Christianity Oasis before moving to Yahoo to talk. After chatting on Yahoo for a while, then we started messaging each other on Facebook & then Glide.

The positive impact you were having on me was already enormous. Like, teaching me things like how to do taxes online or how to cook French Toast.
Your big heart for others inspired me to share that same love for those that want/need it. Despite my best efforts, It’ll never be as much as the love you send to others.

You would embrace me like I was a member of your family (who I loved).

The biggest impact you had on me, I didn’t see coming until it came to pass. You would start sharing the blogs you were writing on this site called WordPress.

It had me curious to read your writings. It was great to read about your early life & how things were in the 60s/70s from your perspective. I couldn’t get enough of reading your blogs & then you would stop writing them.

At first, I thought maybe you were taking a break from them. But, then, the more time had passed since your last blog, the more it sunk in, that you weren’t gonna share any more of your early adventures.

A month or two later, curiosity would push me to start writing blogs of my own. I opened up a WordPress account & started writing about a Saturday morning of watching cartoons.

When I typed, it was as if the words were flowing from my hands like a waterfall. This just felt…right. After finishing my first post, I felt great.
”That was fun”, I thought.

I couldn’t wait to write the next idea I had for a blog. Once again, I let the words flow from my hands to the WordPress page.

The topic was about the loaded Western Conference & the Lebron Conference for the upcoming 2017-2018 NBA season. Another blog is done. I would get my first like ever with that post.
That really made me feel good! It felt like I was onto something with this writing thing.

The third blog is when I began sharing my writings on Facebook. I thought maybe one or two of my family/friends would react to it. To my surprise, I had seven of them respond positively to my blog. I was stunned.

I would continue to write & learn how much creativity I had buried inside of me that needed to be released. My writing journey would lead me to other writing sites like Booksie, Medium, Newsbreak & eventually… The Unsealed.

All this was possible because of you.

It’s because of you, I’ve learned to be more open than I was in the past. I’ve also become a better person over these last nine years. And finally, it’s because of you, that Gerald the writer/storyteller was born four years ago.

I could never thank you enough for the overwhelming impact you’ve had on my life. It won’t stop me from trying though.

Gratefully,