1. The family man: I've known him since he moved to town when we were in fourth grade. He's that guy that's pretty much perfect at everything he does - sports, school, work, and being a gentleman. Dark hair, blue eyes, and a smile for everyone he meets this guy was definitely voted for something in high school (probably for being perfect). He was always dating different girls throughout middle and high school, and I always heard about them and was his sounding board for relationship advice. It wasn't until I was leaving for college that I thought about "us" but in retrospect it was more of a homesick panic that it was going to be weird to not be at his house after school doing homework together and knowing every thing about his day. Throughout college we talked regularly and I saw him during my visits home, and after college the same remained true. We would visit and fall asleep next to each other while talking about whatever was going on in our lives at the time. On one visit in our early 20s, I met his girlfriend and she joined us for a night out with some buddies. The next day over lunch he mentioned that she'd been weird since I arrived. I apologized and he said, "Whatever, you're my best friend and she's just a girl I'm dating." It meant the world to me to have him verbalize our friendship like that. The family man is married with four kids now, and I'm the godmother to one of them. His wife is amazing and they are a great team, and while they live halfway across the country we still take time to talk on the phone and offer advice and encouragement about whatever is happening. He's that guy that I will subconsciously compare other men to when thinking about the future.
2. The bachelor: My sister and I met him on another continent when we were traveling in 2006, and I vividly remember playing Spoons by the campfire with him and the others with us and laughing over our ridiculous conversations. I had the typical immediate crush on him for the next few days, and then we said goodbye. We emailed occasionally, and then he moved to SF for school and we'd meet up whenever I was in town, and now I live here and we've become great friends. He's a charming guy who's up for anything at a moment's notice. Over the years I've seen him through a string of girls, and I told him (completely out of the blue) that we could never kiss because I thought it was important that he has at least one girl in his life that is strictly platonic. He's been supportive of every decision I've made and holds me up on a pedestal and will never let me settle for a man that he doesn't deem worthy of me. When my heart was cracked he planned a weekend of fun and distraction and continued to check in on me. The bachelor is the guy that while no matter whom he might be dating he always seeks my input about them, and he always makes time to spend with me. He's the guy that reminds me that you should always have time for your friends no matter what's happening in your love life.
3. The best friend: I met him in 2009 when he worked at a restaurant that I frequented. My house was between the restaurant and his place, so he began to stop by on his way home from work and he would sit on the porch talking with my roomie and me. I definitely had a crush on him, but during some casual conversation in the beginning he made a comment about never messing around with friends because that had backfired on him before, so that was it, I never made a move and closed that door. Our friendship was intense, quirky, and rocky at the start, so when he invited me over to dinner after we hadn't hung out for a couple months I made it known that (a) I was dating someone and (b) I was moving to SF. He responded with, "Best friend, you're moving?! Well, we better spend as much time together as possible before you go then." True to his word, the months up to my move he spent the majority of his free time with my friends and me. He's the guy that says things that make some people raise their eyebrows with speculation that he's in love with me. While that would be a storybook ending, I can't wrap my mind around it as an option because (a) he has a serious girlfriend and (b) we live across the country from each other and are both happy where we are. Yet he's the guy that I fear on his wedding day I'm going to pull some crazy Julia Roberts shenanigans from My Best Friend's Wedding because whether or not he's in love with me he always makes me feel special. The best friend is the guy that balances me as we live two very different lives.
There you have it, those are three influential men in my life. I feel like I've just written a speech for when I become the president for some dating company.
