Earlier this year, my high school community was met with heartbreak. On January 2nd, my former theology teacher, Charlene Dishaw, passed away unexpectedly and a little over a month later on February 8th, a beloved classmate and friend, Owen Eliasen, left us after months of battling with his health. These tragic losses, so close together, have given me a lot to think about recently. It's hard to fathom losing a family member and while I feel fortunate for both mine and my family's health, my heart aches for the relatives of these two individuals and anyone who's experienced such loss.

I believe due to busy schedules and our innate human thought that we are invincible, not necessarily in a superhero way, but in a way that we expect we'll always be met with a tomorrow, a next month, a next year, we don't talk enough about what we appreciate in one another day to day. I saw a quote on Instagram shortly after these passings that said, "Sometimes we wait too long to let our heroes know how high they reside." That quote and these last few months wrapped in stunning heartbreak have made me evaluate the way I communicate to my people that I appreciate them. Ultimately, it's made me sad that sometimes it takes tragic loss to talk about why you love someone. So, although it's maybe an odd topic for an article, today, just because I can, I'd like to publicly share the reasons my family means so much to me.