As an eight year old, I remember being so excited whenever I got to tag along with the "older and cooler kids" (my older brother Ryan and his friends). I remember their high school proms and homecomings. I remember being allowed to stay up a few extra hours past my bedtime to spend time with the big kids and watch as they played board games. I even remember watching the legendary Mike Tyson fight at our home surrounded by Ryan and his friends. Of these memories and more, each one is unique. They occurred at different times, at different places and sometimes with different people. However, looking back now at each of these memories, one thing was always constant; Wes was always there. It didn't matter what the activity was or when it was or where it was...you knew Wes would be there. I remember always thinking how nice Wes was, not just to my brother and his friends, my parents, and members of our church ward, but to me too...an eight year old who often tagged along with the cool kids. He always said hello to me, and talked to me, and was simply nice. I tried to follow Wes' example when I was in high school and one of my friends' younger siblings wanted to tag along. I consistently said hello to them, talked with them and was simply nice to them, like Wes was to me. As it turned out, many of my friends later told me that their younger siblings always asked them if Jill could come over. Knowing their young siblings thought I was nice made me feel good, but I had to give that credit to Wes. I was simply paying forward something he started, that is, building confidence in a young child and making them feel just important just by being nice. Now, as a college graduate, I know I'm older than my brother and his friends were in those memories I have, but somehow, I'm not. I still see Wes as the older, cool kid whose kindness made a lifetime impression on me, and I will forever look up to him for that.
Jill (Fitzgibbons) Mohlman
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