Another school year goes by, and I realize that it has been another year without you. I was 11 years old when I first experienced death in my family. I never knew what death meant until I lost my grandma. The loss of a loved one is one of the worst feelings in the world.

Everything runs through your mind. That day runs through my head every day. Remembering every moment, every detail that my brain could remember. One constant memory that goes through my mind is not allowing myself to say goodbye. If I could go back in time, I would make myself say goodbye because you never know when you might lose someone important to you.

After realizing that your loved one passed away, you think about all the things that you wouldn’t be able to experience with them. Experiences such as your high school prom, high School Graduation, College, Graduation again, Wedding day, and watching your family grow up. You realize that everything you were excited about experiencing; you wouldn’t be able to. One experience hit me the hardest was when my grandma wasn't able to see me walk across the stage at Graduation.

Not a day goes by that you come to my mind. Whether I am sitting in a college lecture or driving home for Christmas break. It could even be when you sit in your political science class, and your professor plays their favorite song or even when you are not looking, and their picture comes up as your screen saver. It sucks when all you want to do is call them just to talk to them and hear their voice. Then you remember that your loved one is in a safe place, they are not in pain anymore. The pain that you remember seeing them in when you were only 11-years-old.

In today's society, we take many things for granted. We don't recognize the small things in life, for example, our parents and grandparents. Instead, we tend to focus more on ourselves or our technology rather than those around us. Could it be possible that by the time our family is gone, we could regret the way we spent our time with them? My biggest fear is losing my parents and the rest of my family. I can honestly say that sometimes I can get too involved in my phone and not realize what I am doing. Allow yourself to spend more time with the ones you love rather than spending time in technology.

Letting go of a family member is a feeling that no one should ever experience. During our life, everything comes to an end, including our lives. Remember always to say “I love you” or a simple “thank you” to the ones you love the most because you never know when you might not be able to see them again. Never take your family and loved ones for granted. Hold them tight and never let go.