Friend a Day – David Wick

I’ve known David all of his life but I don’t really feel like I got to know him until we spend a summer together in Europe in 1985.

As we traveled around the country that year, I was getting ready to go to college and he was getting ready to spend a year studying in France.  We’d spent our lives in the same home and suddenly we were both branching out on our own. We’d spent years hanging out with our own friends and suddenly we had to spend a month with just each other.

David is, like most members of my family, someone who finds ways to fill just about all of his time.  He’s passionate about his career in the study abroad field.  He has grown to take a leadership role in his professional organization.  He worked a full-time job while getting his PhD to advance his career.

While he doesn’t have time for it any longer, David is a great dancer.  I’ve always been in awe of his grace simply because I have none.  In college, his senior project was a tribute to our dad and it is still one of the most powerful pieces of dance I’ve ever seen.  Sure, it was personal and I was the perfect audience but it was still a terrific work by a very talented dancer/choreographer.

We only see each other about once a year these days and that’s a shame because there is always so much to talk about.  He is one of the most genuinely charming people I know.  If you know David, you probably like him. I have no idea how you couldn’t.

He’s had his share of challenges but he always maintains a positive outlook on everything.  I have tried to learn that from him over the years.

I always tell people I’m a big fan of my family.  They are good people and I’m pleased to know them not just as family but as friends.  David is family, but he’s also a great friend.