There's something magical about watching a bunch of balloons drift off into the evening sky, among the expansive pink, gold and blue backdrop the sunset creates. They leave our hands, not knowing which way they're going, just floating whichever way the wind takes them.

We don't know for sure in which direction the wind will take them; all we know is that they'll continue to rise upward, toward the heavens.

And on Saturday, June 10, 2017, that's exactly what my new friends and I wanted them to do. We wanted them to rise high enough that we could imagine Christina Grimmie being able to reach out from heaven to catch them, smiling as she realized the 15 balloons we released were all green--her favorite color.

It's been a year since we lost Christina, who was taken from us way too early after a deranged fan killed her at a concert at Plaza Live in Orlando. It's been a year of grieving, of learning, of mixed emotions, trauma and the constant use of one question: Why?

On June 11, 2016, the candlelight vigil was extremely somber, raw emotions afloat and manifesting in the form of tears and heartache.

But on June 10 this year, the atmosphere was lighter. The heartache was still--and always will be--present, but this time those who gathered shared laughs and memories.

One girl brought a portable speaker, through which we played Christina's latest album, All Is Vanity. (Buy it on iTunes with that link!) Another brought a cooler of water bottles and snacks. I brought balloons, tea light candles and lighters. Others still brought flowers, more candles, poster boards, journals and markers. We wrote messages to Christina on the boards, and messages to each other in the journals. We arranged the tea light candles in the formation of Christina's Side A EP symbol and also using them to spell out the words that describe the way Christina lived and treated others: With Love.

We yelled out, "We love you Christina, rock on!" as we sent the green balloons soaring upward into the summer evening sky. We gathered in front of the marquee, which was cleared save for two words: Remember Christina. We took group photos, Snapchat videos, making Christina's signature "rawwk" fingers.

There were unlimited hugs to go around, shoulders to cry on, words of encouragement to be said, laughs to share and memories to be made. Half of us had never met prior to the vigil--which was organized completely over Twitter, by complete strangers-become-friends.

And to me, that's the essence of who Christina was. It didn't matter if you'd never met her--if you supported her and her music, you were a "frand." You were welcomed with open arms and treated with love and respect, no matter who you were or what walk of life you came from. Everything about her was filled and done with love.

I don't want every news story or anyone's centric focus to be solely on her death and how she died. The point of this one-year-anniversary vigil was to commemorate and celebrate the life of Christina Grimmie.

With the Pulse tragedy occurring just more than 24 hours later, less than 10 minutes away, her story was unfortunately overshadowed. But as long as Team Grimmie is around, we won't let it go unnoticed.

I'm not perfect and I don't claim to be, but because of Christina I try to do everything with love. She radiated love and life, acceptance and a passion for reaching people through her music.

Before You Exit's song "Clouds" was written about and for Christina, and some of the best lyrics are these: "The light that you left, it helps me to see a way through all the bitterness, a way to who I really want to be."

I truly believe that Christina doesn't want us to remain bitter and angry about what happened. That would go against her motto of doing things with love. Instead, we need to remember who she was, what she lived for and how we will continue her legacy.

The love and sense of unity that radiated from the porch of the Plaza Live just a couple of nights ago is Christina's doing. It's what she was all about. Only a handful of us knew each other prior to the vigil. Strangers became friends, thanks to Christina bringing us together. No one was alone as laughter was shared and tears were shed.

And as we shouted "...rock on, Christina!" and the balloons floated sky high, there was a moment, as we stood together, when a few of those clouds shifted and very nearly formed the "rawwk" fingers.

I know it was Christina, letting us know she is all right and rocking on in heaven.