My heart hurts a little more every time I think of you. Whenever an old picture pops up on social media or a story about you comes up in conversation, the reality of you being gone sets in all over again. It’s nearly impossible to wrap my head around the idea that you’re truly gone. At this point in our lives so many people come and go, and the idea of permanence isn’t easily understood. I still expect to see your name pop up on my timeline or to hear your laugh cut through a crowded party. I wonder if it’ll ever sink in that you’re not coming back.

Between the pain of losing someone and the heartache of a life ending at such a young age, I have learned not to take people for granted. To cherish every moment you spend with somebody and soak in every bit of them you can. We should tell people we appreciate them more often, be transparent with our feelings. We never know when someone we love will be taken too soon.

I promise to never take a single moment for granted. Life should be lived to the fullest, and I refuse to live in fear of it being taken away. I will always keep you in my heart wherever life takes me and remember that I have an angel taking good care of me. They say that everything happens for a reason, and I hope that one day I am able to understand why this would happen to someone so young and genuine. Maybe God needed you more than we did, but I think it was something more. Your life was one that inspired many, and I can’t wait until I see you again.