“I only want to see Drake if I get to see Josh.” “Hey Drake, tell Josh we said hello.” “There is no Drake without his brother Josh.” These were just a few of the comments being thrown around the Simpson College campus as the community anticipated the arrival of Drake Bell. 

Friday, Sept. 13, singer and actor Drake Bell, known for his role as Drake Parker on the hit Nickelodeon TV show “Drake and Josh,” performed in the Black Box. Bell worked alongside co-star Josh Peck.

The two together made a dynamic duo as stepbrothers on the screen, but it seems, even many years after the cancellation of the show, the two cannot exist outside of each other.   

Drake Bell was just as entertaining without Josh and it is important to recognize and appreciate his talents as an individual, to make sure he does not lose who he really is.

Drake Bell is more than just Josh’s brother. 

People often forget to appreciate individuals for who they are outside of their  relationships, friendships, and occupations. It is a curse to always be recognized for one thing.

A girl who is only ever recognized for being their significant other’s girlfriend will start to feel like she can’t be more than just that. That she may never be more than that. She may start to normalize the label and later resent herself for losing sight for who she is outside of her relationship. 

The applies for siblings and close-knit friend groups. 

This dynamic played out on “Drake and Josh.” Drake was always the popular one and received the most attention for others who were in both Drake and Josh’s life, but it was almost as if Josh was never there. He was often forgotten and the show would occasionally focus on how this affected his self-esteem.

Having older siblings sometimes lead to unfair comparisons and bias against younger siblings later in life. 

Often in friend groups, one friend is more popular than the other, and he or she is left to fight to be recognized as their own person. This friend has dreams, talents and an entire identity outside of this friend group and it’s about time people do better at recognizing it. 

Drake was great without Josh.

If people continue to minimize others to little more than someone else’s shadow, they will stop remembering who they are outside of the label people have placed upon them. 

Appreciate people for who they are and what they bring to the table. Separate them from their relationships and occupations. Call them by their name and show them they are perfect just the way they are.