In fourth year, I celebrated my birthday. Doing this was not entirely par for the course; on numerous years, this did not happen (and, at the time of writing this, hasn't happened for the past 3 years). For some reason, during that particular year at Queen's, I was fortunate enough to be surrounded by people who not only knew my date of birth, but also wanted to acknowledge said date in a more celebratory fashion than winning the "who had the most wall posts today" contest. Among these people was Justin Goddard. I remember that we went to QP on the actual night my birthday (Thursday) and he bought me a pint of beer. For some reason, this event stands out in my mind because... I guess simply because it doesn't happen most years and it was the first real sign (that I picked up on) that Goddard was not simply an acquaintance, but an actual friend.
Justin Goddard is one of the kindest, most considerate people I have ever met. In fact, he may very well be the kindest and most considerate person I have ever met. He's always happy to see or hear from you and you just feel warmth and goodwill emanating from him all the time. Karen was actually the one who really drew my attention to the word "kind" to describe Goddard and it really is the best word there is. My mother used to read me The Big Book of Kindness (or something that sounds like that) when I was a child and I'm pretty sure Goddard embodies all those characteristics.
Related to the idea of kindness is the fact that Goddard also has a strong sense of empathy. He considers how people might feel and I've never known him to be insensitive of other people's feelings.
Goddard is a deep-thinker and I love deep thinkers. I can talk about all sorts of crazy thoughts and realizations I have about love, life, eternity, and relationships and I have yet to discuss a topic with Goddard on which he cannot contribute. This is key. I mean, it's one thing to listen sympathetically to me while I ramble on about some universal idea; it's quite another to add another perspective or draw another link on the same topic. Because of this, Goddard is always ready to provide alternative interpretations or point out flaws in my thoughts and this makes him a rare and invaluable conversationalist.
Goddard is also hilarious. I suppose on some level, he feels shame (I think), but Goddard always embraces awkward moments and isn't afraid of self-deprecating humor. One of my other favorite Goddard moments is the occasion where he fellated a banana in Leonard cafeteria. Upon noticing a wide-eyed stranger staring at him from two seats down, he turned and said hello to her while Courtney and I killed ourselves laughing.
Goddard is part fish. He's one of the most amazing people I've ever known. He's the kind of guy you meet and you say to yourself, "God, I hope I still know him when I'm 80," because as far as friends (and people) go, he's the best there is.
