Corban

Was it at the start of our friendship, when you wore that NF shirt freshman year during lunch, and we first found something we both could relate to? Was it when you were the only one who stayed behind to help me pack up after my show at Riv's Westside? Was it when we had one of our first (of many) heart-to-heart conversations? Was it when I realized how deep of a thinker you were, how authentic of a believer you were, and how real of a brother you were? Was it the countless memories at four years worth of band camps in the hot summer sun with sweat dripping down our faces? Was it when you made fun of me for ordering chicken tenders separately so I could put them on top of my salad at Champions? Was it when I realized how much you love that Platte River shirt? What about the 3am runs to Fleetwood? Or the slumber party on a humid night in Diamondale behind Kaleigh's house? I was afraid our laughter would wake the Rios family into the wee hours of the morning. All the sectionals, all the cadences, the 15+ halftime shows we played together? Was it all the laughter we had with Kauffold? Or was it in Martin's philosophy class every day when we would whisper to each other, trying not to let our laughter be audible? I swear Martin knew we were trouble together. Was it when we watched the sunset on the dunes in Ludington with Savannah and Kaleigh and Christian? Was it the countless times you would pronounce everything wrong by switching the first letters just so we could laugh? If I was around you, I was laughing until it hurt my stomach. Was it the countless Ross videos we watched together on YouTube for hours? Was it when we talked about what girls we were interested in and when we tried to give advice to each other? Man, we thought we were so wise. And no conversation of ours, over text or in-person, never ended without a "love you." Was it our bike rides? Was it was when we laid in the bed of my dad's truck on June 11, waiting for the storm to roll in? Maybe it was all the times we talked about what it meant to be a faithful follower of Jesus in this confusing world we found ourselves in time and time again.

What moment was my favorite? Which was the defining one of our brotherhood?

I would need a million pages to journal our memories together and my thoughts on you — a quiet, hilarious, and beautiful soul.

Your mom Michelle posted that your name in the Word means something "dedicated and set apart for God's use."

Oh, how you were.

I know your heart. I know Jesus calls you His own.

Friends are for life, and brothers are forever.