As I was thinking of what I could possibly write about next, the same thought kept coming to my mind. How could I pay tribute to someone who has left a lasting impression upon my hometown in his mere 19 years of life? For a while I thought that I would be doing him a dishonor, as I didn't know Luke as more than an acquaintance. He was someone who I had only spoken to in class or around school—however he still managed to leave a lasting impression, and I thought that it was worth sharing.

Sadly, this past Sunday, Luke passed away after a long, hard, three year battle with Ewing's Sarcoma, an aggressive form of bone cancer. There were many news stations that began coverage of the unsettling news, stating that he lost his battle with the disease. Those who knew of his courageous battle and the life that he lived knew that this was not a loss, the cancer had not won. The lessons that Luke has taught us were far more superior than the illness that he possessed. He was, and still is, an extremely honorable person in my opinion, and I don't think that anyone is in disagreement about that.

Abraham Lincoln once said, "It's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years." Luke truly exemplified the meaning of that quote and gave it a whole new meaning. From the beginning of his fight back in 2013, he never once showed an ounce of fear or anger for the fact that he had to deal with such an awful turn of events. Instead, after only a few days in the hospital after the diagnosis, we got to watch him walk out onto the basketball court, showing just the strength he had for this fight. He wasn't giving up.

The Canon McMillan School District and the surrounding community then began to give the word 'strong' a new meaning, #LukeStrong. #LukeStrong became more than just a hashtag, more than just getting my yard flocked by flamingos as part of a fundraiser, more than something that we got printed onto t-shirts, written on posters and athletic shoes, hats, etc; people wanted to live by exactly what #LukeStrong meant.

#LukeStrong means Strength: Sometimes life throws things your way that seem unfair and quite impossible to get through, however having the perseverance to push through the tough times is the only way to get to the good times. Luke showed everyone what it means to be able to have the strength to push through what might seem to be the impossible.

#LukeStrong means Kindness: Tough times can turn a person cold, Luke never did such a thing. When I would see him walking through the halls at school there was never a time that he did not have a smile on his face. He was always happy. While I never had the opportunity to know Luke very well, I did have the pleasure of getting to know all of the great things that his friends had to say about him. Not once had any one of them ever had a bad thing to say about him; not before the illness, not during, and not now. It takes a special person to be able to live a life where no one has one mean thing to say about you.

#LukeStrong means Positivity: There was not one time that Luke showed any form of negativity towards having this awful disease. His positivity radiated through the community of Canon McMillan and well beyond. Who else can say that they brought multiple rival schools together just by their story? People loved hearing how positive and selfless Luke was. Even while being away at college, local people who knew of his story would continuously ask about him, or comment about how positive he was—I think that says a lot about a person.

#LukeStrong means Defying all odds: Back in 2013 when Luke was told of his diagnosis, he took to an interview with a local television station, WPXI's Cara Sipida to allow her, the rest of the community, and quite frankly the rest of Western PA that he wasn't going down without a fight. When they said he would never be able to play basketball or baseball again he even managed to defy those odds. In fact, this past December he showed us once again that he was not giving up. He was going to defy the odds of the cards that he was dealt.

#LukeStrong means Fight like hell: Luke had a way of fighting like no other. Making his initial statement of "I'm gonna make cancer my bitch" there was not one ounce of his body that wasn't ready to fight. Not only did he give this battle his all, he did it with a smile on his face.

I think we all need to thank Luke for the lessons he taught us. He taught us to never give up no matter the cards you are dealt, and to always see the good in everything. I can't even begin to imagine the lessons that he has taught his family and friends. While I'm sure his humble self would never admit it, he deserves all the honor he's being given. Yes, I'm sure there were times of doubt, however, he stood fearless in the eyes of those in the surrounding community.

I believe that a lot of the reason that Luke was able to fight for so long was because of the people that he surrounded himself with. His wife, Natalie, who was and forever will be his rock. His parents, siblings, and quite honestly his whole family—who through Luke's actions have made it extremely evident that he was raised by strong, compassionate, caring people. Those who surround him should feel proud.

So yes, unfortunately yet another great soul was taken from this community far too soon, but we should be appreciative of the lessons we have learned from this. Live every day to the fullest and you will never regret a thing. Be kind, be loving, and be your genuine self. Exemplify the qualities that he possessed. Life is full of ups and downs but having a positive outlook makes it so much more worth-while once you reach where you are meant to go.

So thank you Luke, for all of the lessons you have taught this community, while they were maybe unintentional, they did not go unnoticed. Hopefully people have learned a lesson or two from this whole experience. But most importantly, don't ever take your days for granted. Tomorrow is not promised, so live today to its fullest potential.