May 6

Until three years ago, it was any other day.  And then the unthinkable happened.  Maren Kataleena DeVries was gone...through her own doing.  She was a wonderful girl and she left the world all too soon.  I wrote a letter to Maren as a form of closure after she died and I wanted to share some of it because her life was just so important to me.  

It's sometimes hard not to see how amazing someone is until they're gone...Yes, Maren, you were wonderful and it is so hard to believe that you're really gone...You were amazing, do you know that?  You made life so much more fun, more exciting, and you always provided so many reasons to live life to its fullest...You made a difference in so many lives.  I'll never forget you Maren, please know that.  I don't know where you are or if I'll ever see you again, but I could never forget you and your shining personality.  You had a strong and courageous spirit and I admired it and it inspired me to develop that kind of spirit in my everyday life.  I think of you constantly and I have no doubt that your memory will be in my heart forever.  

She was a beautiful girl who I met on the first day of high school when I was scared and felt alone.  I remember the day I wondered through the lunchroom wondering where to sit.  She saw my terrified face and invited me to sit at her table and from that point on, we were friends.  Four years ago, the two of us were sitting on the grassy slope outside Ballard High School eating our sack lunches and laughing about the dumbest things.  It's just not right that three years ago, I was sitting with the sophomore class at the memorial service of a fifteen year old.  I miss her, I really do and it kills me to think of all she's missing.

She missed graduation...something she probably would have done with six medals around her neck and four extra chords.  She missed the whole composting fad, which I know she would have been an avid fan of.  We could have mocked Justin Timberlake's "Sexy Back" together.  She missed Barack Obama!  The world is changing so fast, but she is standing as still as can be and I hate that she has to miss it all.  She would have loved college and she would have changed the world, but she can't.  She taught everyone in her life to live differently, though.  She taught us a love that we would not otherwise know.  She taught us that everyone has a different story and we have no right to judge anyone when we know very well that our own story is full of its own flaws.

So, here I sit, three years later: Remembering May 6 like it was yesterday and thinking of what I can do to honor her beautiful life.  I think the most anyone can do is show the same kind of love and passion for the world that she did.  She's not here to show it, so we need to do our part and love just a little more.