When we start the New Year we think about how this year can be different than the last one. How we can do better or how we can make a difference. There’s so much to do and get prepared for and we are left with being so excited about the upcoming year. Usually, when we start a New Year I am optimistic and excited for what is to come but this year it might take some time before I can be optimistic and excited for the new year.

As we all rang in the New Year one way a specific group of people was mourning a loss. On Sunday, December 31st, 10 people were killed in a plane crash while returning from vacation. Of those people on that plane two were people I had known very well and of those two, one was someone who I had connected with from day one. His name was Ari Weiss and I met him at the place that changed my life: Ramah Darom.

Everyone knows my connection to Ramah Darom — and yes, this is another Ramah Darom article. Ramah made me who I am, gave me some wonderful memories and helped me become a better person. This article is kind of different than all my other ones. In 2014 I met a lanky camper with brown wavy hair who was 12. His name was Ari Weiss and at the time I didn’t know how much he would have an impact on me. It started with our names because we both had the Hebrew name of Ari.

When the summer ended and the next one began, I didn’t know how he and I would interact but he would go out of his way to find me and I would go out of my way to find him and talk to him. He wasn’t just my camper he was like a brother to me and someone I cared deeply for.

Four years later, I am lucky enough to say that Ari was more than just a camper to me but he was also a friend. As I see all the posts on social media about Ari and Hannah I can't help but say how happy and emotional this makes me. Ari and Hannah were two of the best people I knew and while I knew Ari better than his sister they were both similar in aspects of being caring, devoted to friends and most importantly leaders. When I saw them together, I didn’t see two siblings but I saw friends and a mentor and mentee and the mentor would always move between the two.

It is still difficult for me to fathom that both of them are gone. Today I woke up and the first thing I expected was to text Ari and say, "Please don’t let it be true." But I know that it is and it won't get any easier, not only for me but friends of Ari and Hannah. Sometimes we take life for granted but Ari and Hannah were always the first people there to make sure we didn’t through their smiles and their love. They weren’t just people you saw walking around they were individuals who went out of their way to talk to you and develop a relationship with you.

So if you are a follower of these articles you know what I am doing is a little different than usual. I can talk about how this is out of norm for me to write articles that are usually goofy or sports related but Ari is someone worth changing up things for. I didn’t just lose a camper Ramah lost a leader and most importantly we all lost someone who made an impact every step of the way.

I saw parts of Ari that I saw in me which was a reason we were so close I saw the music-loving, optimistic, caring individual who was loved by all and I was lucky enough to connect with someone like him. Thank you for teaching me, Ari, on how to be a better person and for this wonderful relationship I was blessed to have with you for the past four years. You’ll always be my Starman waiting in the sky and I know someday I will see you again.

Thank you, Ramah Darom, for giving me not only just a camper but someone who was more. Words can't say enough. Ari, you will be missed and I can't help but think of you every day.