The document describes the development of a childhood friendship group from ages 5 to 21. It introduces Tom, Tyler, Joe, and Lander who met at ages 5-6 and have been inseparable since, becoming like brothers. Each section then focuses on one of the individuals, describing their personality and interests as children, during teenage years, and now at age 20-21 as they have started careers and education paths. Though they all continue to develop individually, their strong childhood bond and support for each other remains.

1. THE DEVELOPMENT OF
CHILDHOOD FRIENDS
The Story of Tom, Tyler, Joe, and Lander

2. We all met when we were five and six years old. We
lived across the street from each other, which
strengthened our friendship even more. We were
inseparable. Everyone knew who we were in our
neighborhood and were surprised to us when we
weren’t with the others. These were my brothers
growing up. We were there for every high and low
point in each of our lives. We called ourselves “The
Mess Gang”, and nobody could touch us. We were
young and bold. Care free of what was to ever
come later in life. We enjoyed every moment we
had with each other. This is the story of the
development of Tom, Tyler, Joe, and Lander.

3. TOM

4. When Tom was five, you already knew this kid was
going to go somewhere. He had the comedy sense
that comedians 30 years older than him had. He was
also a phenomenal drummer. There are videos of him
when his just a toddler playing full versions of Beatles
and The Who songs. Tom just had the eye for artistic
things in life. Tom was not afraid to meet new people or
make fun of himself, because he had a very strong
sense of self. He had his flaws as well though. He was
afraid to be alone or be in emotionally intense
situations, due to the fact that his older brother had
died when he was three. He loved to make people
laugh, but he had a hard time understanding when he
had gone too far or was hurting people just to get a
good laugh. Tom was like every five year old though,
he was full of innocence and laughter, yet didn’t
understand how the world and its social conventions
worked.

5. When Tom was 16, not much had changed with humor, music
skills, or his ability to not care about what people thought
about him. He was beginning to come out of his shell about
worrying about being alone and being around emotionally
intense situations, but he was still hesitant at times. You could
tell that he was unsure what he wanted to with his life. He was
afraid to leave home and be on his own. He never really had a
plan on what he wanted to do after high school, which
worried us as his friends, cause we didn’t want him to waste this
great talent he has. At this point in his life, he was very into
music, and tried to emulate his music idols (as seen with his
bleached blonde hair and skinny jeans). Sometimes it was hard
to see his sense of self with the constant changes with his
musical influences, but you know that Tom was still his true self.
Tom had helped lead the high school drum line to two state
titles in his first years at high school, which says a lot about is
music ability and dedication. Tom was the kind of person that
just knew how to put a smile on people’s faces and turn their
whole day around. He was the person to turn to when you
were feeling down.

6. Now Tom is 20, and he has seemed to make a
complete turn around with his life goals. He is currently
in junior college, with ambitious plans to transfer to
North Central College in Naperville after this fall
semester. He has all A’s and B’s in his courses and has
been so organized that it’s scary. He has fully broken
out of his shell of being nervous and alone and has
become a completely independent person, which
makes us proud of him. He plans to major in advertising
and use his artistic talent. He is also still strongly pursuing
music. Us two are writing music together and plan on
releasing an album, and he is also working on creating
his own solo work. Tom’s sense of self is stronger than
ever. He has never stopped not caring about what
others think of him, and does what he thinks is best for
Tom. He still has an amazing sense of humor and is still
the go to person to talk to when you’re having a bad
day. Tom has made many physical and mental
changes, but he is still that same fun loving five year old
at heart.

7. TYLER

8. When I was five years old, I was a very shy kid. At times,
I was very closed off and hard time meeting friends.
That was until I met Joe, Tom, and Lander, who helped
get me out of my comfort zone. From ages five to
twelve, I was somewhat stripped of having a
childhood, due to the fact that my dad went on three
year long tours for the U.S. Army, which put a lot on me.
I had responsibilities that no other kid my age had. I
learned how to fix a furnace, change a car tire, and
other things that most kids would learn when they were
in their mid teens. I was worried about taking care of
my mom and making sure everything was taken care
of before she came home from a long day at work
each day. But Lander, Tom, and Joe helped me
maintain a since of normality in my life. They were
always there to help me when I was having problems
and helped me grow as an individual. They got me into
sports and music and helped me become a more
confident person.

9. When I was 16, I had the best and worst times of my life.
I seemed to use my dads absence's at a young age as
an excuse to act out. I was a good student, but I
seemed to retaliate a lot against my teachers. I had a
healthy relationship with my parents, but my dad’s Post
Traumatic Stress Disorder made it difficult to be home
sometimes. That’s where I found shelter in my best
friends. They were my safety net and helped me
escape from my problems for a while. In high school, I
got really into lacrosse and music, and realized that
these were two things that I wanted to pursue in the
future. These were my passions, and they helped me
get my act together. I began to pick up Tom’s
mentality of not caring of what people thought of me
and worried about what I needed to do with my life
and what made me happy. I had gotten out of my
shell of being shy and had less of a problem of meeting
new people. I was becoming a more well-rounded
individual.

10. Now I’m twenty, and a lot has changed. I’m currently pursuing my
goals of playing college lacrosse, and I’m writing and playing music
off to the side, which makes me happy because these are my true
passions. I spent a month in Europe, which was a huge life changing
experience that taught me the importance of being a more
organized, focused, and accountable person. I stopped blaming
others when things went wrong in my life and learned from my
mistakes and worked on what I could do to be a better person. I’ve
decided that I want to be a teacher, because I want to be a positive
influence on kids and help them through times and be there for them
like my friends, family, and teachers were for me. I try my best to put
others before me and make sure that they are okay before my
problems are solved, because I know how it feels to feel alone and
feel like no one cares about your problems. My parents and I are
better than ever and strengthen our relationship every single day.
They have helped make me who I am today and helped me get
where I am today. I’ve learned that family and friends are
everything. I try and enjoy the little things in life, because in the long
run, they are what add up and truly matter. I have a very strong
sense of self and purpose now.

11. JOE

12. When Joe was six, he was the kid that every one
picked on, but regretted it immediately because he
was a black belt in karate at this age. He was the
smallest of the group but had the biggest temper
out of all of us. He was a very smart and fun loving
kid, but was very aggressive at the same time. He
had trouble making new friends because he was
very unapproachable at times. Joe had one of the
biggest hearts out of all of us, but had a hard time
showing it. He used to get into fights with all of us
over little things. This was due because he was so
passionate about things but couldn’t express that
passion in a healthy way. We still loved Joe, flaws
and all, and learned how to handle his outbursts the
best way five year olds could do, which was with
large amounts of laughter.

13. When Joe was 16, he went off to a boarding school
that helped kids with dyslexia. Joe was a very smart
kid, but had trouble learning in school due to this
disability. Going to this boarding school could’ve
been one the best things for Joe. When he came
back for the summer after his first year, he was a
totally new person. He was extremely calm and
wasn’t aggressive anymore. He had a whole new
outlook on life. He was all about positivity and
helping others. He spent most of his free time
working at a camp helping kids with disabilities or
certain sicknesses. He was always such a
compassionate person, and now he finally found a
way to show that compassion and use it to the best
of his abilities. You could never see Joe without a
smile on his face.

14. Now Joe is 21, and he has made a full 180 from
what he was when he was six. He is working to
becoming a school counselor at Gannon University
in Pennsylvania to learn how to further help at risk
kids and every summer he goes on trips to help kids
in third world countries. Joe never gets angry about
anything anymore. He is probably one of the most
level headed out of all of us. He is always smiling
and always wondering what he could do to help us
and others out. He is a total health nut and
somehow manages to wake us up at 6:30 in the
morning to go on runs. He is the Energizer Bunny and
we love him for that.

15. LANDER

16. When Lander was five, he was the most energetic
and fun loving out of all of us. He had no problem
going up to new people and instantly becoming
friends with them. That’s how we became friends. A
hour after I had just moved in, he was at my front
door already asking if I wanted to go out and play.
He was fearless and compassionate. Every one was
also very afraid of him because he was one of the
biggest kids in our grades, height and weight wise.
Lander was the “enforcer” in our group, and every
one was afraid to pick on us because they knew
that Lander would not tolerate it one bit. Lander
had the ability to see the good and everybody, and
that’s why people were drawn to him.

17. When Lander was 16, nothing much had changed
about him. He still had this great energy around him
and was still never afraid to meet new people. He
was beginning to gain a passion for sports and
became a starter for the varsity football team as a
freshman and sophomore. He was a very caring
individual and tried his best to help turn around
people’s bad days. He was never the best student
though, which got him down a lot of the times and
made him not want to pursue school further past
college, which worried us all because we knew
what he was capable if he applied himself. Lander
was more worried about working jobs and being an
independent individual and pay for things himself,
since the money situation in his family was tight. He
wanted to help them out as best he could.

18. Lander is now 21, and still not much as changed
about his personality. Physically though, he has
changed a lot. He went from weighing 245 lbs. and
dropped all the way down to 215 lbs., which makes
us all really happy for him cause we were very
worried about his health. Lander is currently working
a full time job framing houses, and he is very happy
with it. At this point in time he doesn’t want to
pursue school any further, which worries us, but we
want him to be happy and working full time is what
makes him happy. Lander is about to move out and
get a place of his own he’s been doing well with
work. At the end of the day, Lander is the same little
kid at heart that I met 15 years ago. He is one of the
most caring people I know.

19. Now 15 years have past since the first photo and a lot has
changed about us, especially physically. For the most part
though, we are still the same little kids are heart that came
together when they were five and six. I consider these guys my
brothers until the end. We talk every single day despite being
apart from each other and always know what’s going on all of
our lives. We are still developing as individuals, but we will always
be there for each other every step of the way.