June of 2014. This marks the month of a memory that happened over 10 years ago, but yet feels like it could have been only last year. A day that young and innocent second grade me will carry with me for the rest of my life.

“Sam, there’s something I need to tell you,” my mom softly mumbled to me as I walked into my bedroom. I immediately knew something was wrong as I saw tears streaming down her face. An instant rush of nerves rushed through my head and I stood there in shock as my mom tried to find the courage to break the news to me. “Your friend Shane passed away yesterday”, my mom calmly said. An immediate feeling of pain and sorrow poured into my head as I began to cry. In this moment, it felt like the world was coming to an end. It was my first actual experience of losing someone that was close to me, and it was an indescribable feeling.

July of 2015. It is a year later and I gather in a circle with my fellow classmates on the family’s driveway, as we put together lanterns with messages about our dear friend who had just passed away. I look around and see the sorrow on everyone’s face, but also feel the compassion as we gather to support Shane’s family and those that were close to him. We all take our lanterns with our special messages and hold them up in the spirit of our friend. As we all let go, the lanterns drift off and gracefully bring their light into the dark of the night. I look at the sky filled with shining lanterns and realize the impact that this night will have on me for the rest of my life. As I lay in bed that night, I hope for one thing and that is for Shane’s family to have a little more hope and happiness after this wonderful night.