This past week was a rollercoaster to say the least. Tears were shed, laughter was scarce and hugs were abundant. My best friend's great-grandmother passed away and we all had to learn how to say goodbye, or rather- see you soon.

It's not the first time I have had to deal with someone passing away, but it was my friend's first time, so it was still pretty tough, even for us "veterans". It really tested my friendship ability because I have my own life and my own problems happening all the time. This week I had to deal with double the set of problems, which is not always the easiest thing to do.

The worst part is never knowing what to say in these situations. We all say that we will pray for them and we offer our sincerest condolences. Yet, these words will never bring back someone's loved one, so the comfort factor is pretty minimum. To me, this is always the worst part. I never have the words to say because there are never any words that will alleviate that pain, at least not right away. It's one of those things that takes a lot of solitude and time to finally find some peace.

Saying goodbye is always hard, even when death is not involved. We don't like to leave our best friends in another state or our grandparents in another country. Somehow, I have always been able to find peace early on in a goodbye, but that wasn't true for my friend last week. It makes it even more difficult to cope when you have two differing personalities trying to get to the same goal. I guess that's why Mutti, my best friend's great grandmother, said we'd always be "forever friends" the last time I spoke to her. We all want to help and provide some comfort, but sometimes the person has to look individually and take some time to contemplate. Taking time to yourself is crucial because you need to look deep inside and see how you feel and what you are going to do everyday to challenge yourself to feel better.

I don't have those answers, in fact no one has those answers. We are like the blind leading the blind while trying to get through this crazy maze called life.