This is going to get sappy really fast.

Its the holiday season. That means the semester is coming to a close, people are traveling for the celebrations, people are planning parties and buying gifts - and while there is so much good and cheer there is still so much hurt.

It's so difficult to see the light of a situation when everything seems so dark. There are days when everything seems okay. Nothing seems too out of the ordinary and every thing seems fine. I really do like those days, but despite the joy of the season those days are few and far between.

December 24th, 2016. Christmas Eve. Exactly two months since a friend was torn from my grasp and taken from this Earth. Celebrating the holidays doesn't feel right. While I never celebrated them with him, I think about his parents. It's their first Christmas without their son. I think about his best friend. They were often together. What is it like to have someone who you saw or spoke to every single day suddenly gone?

It's just so hard. The holidays are a wonderful time. A time of giving. A time of thankfulness. Yet, sadly, all I can really think about is all the sadness. Sometimes all it takes is for me to hear a song or see something and I'm reminded of the life that was taken before it should have been. This is one of the most difficult things I've had thrown my way, and sometimes it really tears me apart.

While he didn't get to live his life as long as we wanted him to, he still left his legacy. My heart goes out to those who were closest to him.

Rest in Peace, my dear friend.