Jered Wilson: Through my eyes

Jered. J Willy. J-Rad. Over the years, I accumulated a lot of nicknames for him. Ever since junior high, I’ve had classes with Jered at PV and am grateful for it. While he may have seemed quiet to many, once getting to know him, everybody realized that his enthusiasm, energy, and desire to make people around him happy were unparalleled. Every time I ever walked into class unhappy, he made sure I walked out laughing at a dumb joke. But Jered’s charisma didn’t stop at making people laugh. He was completely selfless, helping me out whenever I needed it without ever asking for a favor in return. I can think of many occasions where I would procrastinate on homework assignments and he saved my grade, or when he diligently worked on group assignments to make sure everybody benefited.

The best thing Jered ever did for me was adjusting his whole schedule for the school year to match mine as well as it could so I’d have a good friend in more of my classes. Jered, with his humor, generosity, and humility, was the closest thing to a perfect friend I’ve ever known. I have a feeling I’ll never know anything closer. Even now, I don’t think I’ll be able to truly appreciate how much of an impact Jered had on my life until I get used to how much quieter my day will be without him in the desk next to me, or how much scarier college will be without him as my dormmate. While my words can’t do his memory justice, I hope that my actions can come one step closer. As time goes on, I’d like to be an endless source of laughter for my friends. I’d like to be a daily constant, the one friend who can always turn a bad day around. I’d like to help my friends out of a tough spot anytime I can while disregarding how much work or time it takes. I’d like to be more like Jered. And if there’s one thing we can all take away from his death, it’s that the world would be a better place if more of us could be the Jered in somebody’s life.