Hank Russell

Unlike many of my friends I have now, Hank Russell is someone who despite meeting within the first few weeks of school Freshmen year, I didn't immediately become friends with. Rather than making friends for simply making friends as I had done for the majority of  Freshmen year, Hank was someone who I originally aspired to be friends with because of his intellect and marvelous taste in music. In fact, i remember the first time i mentioned that there was a boy in Calculus 3 to my mom and she slapped the back of my head and asked me why she couldnt have a son like him - i think thats when i truly knew i wanted to be friends with this kid. It wasnt until Sophomore year when I had more classes with Hank that I came to recognize the true Hank. Originally i imaged Hank as two things - someone who goes home and studies like a mad man to get all A's and someone who thoroughly enjoys his music, but as my friendship with Hank grew I began to notice much more. Hank isnt someone who studies for the sake of getting an A, he is the type of person who studies for the sake of the content - to truly appreciate the complexity of the knowledge it has to offer and grasp the ideas and principals it teaches. Consequentially, Hank is a man of many opinions - whether it be music, fashion, politics, classes, popular culture, Hank always has an opinion on the matter that must be verbalized; his knowledge of which opens doors to types of cultures and genres I never knew existed. Here inlays the brilliance of Hank, his appreciation for what life has to offer and what he can grasp of it. Its almost funny how Hank and I are even friends, our personalities tend to clash so much - a usual lunch period with us goes as follows: I do something stupid and try to complain about it like im in the right, Hank calls me out on it, I get aggravated and throw a fit because I realize hes right, I make a joke about it and Hank makes a joke about it and the process repeats. As well, Hank and I have two very separate mantras towards life - He looks at life in terms of growth, knowledge, experience, and overall in a much more abstract sense while my sense of life is much more literal and concrete in terms of what definitively points you out from the rest - degree, power, wealth. Despite how much Hank and I clash, it seems at the end of the day that it is our sense of humor and our strong opinions and overarching friendship ( and the fact that despite all his intelligence he still puts up with my absurdities) that keeps us as friends. To me Hank seems like someone that will go somewhere amazing in life and work hard towards reaching that goal while still appreciating every step of the way. In the words of Albert Einstein "Try not to become a man of success. Rather become a man of value." Hank is a man of true value and it is such value that will ultimately lead him to success.