One year ago today, I lost a friend.

While I don’t think of myself as a great writer, I’ve never had as much trouble writing about something as I am now. I start, stop, cry, erase and then start all over again. It’s hard enough remembering Emily without crying but to actually express this in the written word is proving to be much more difficult that I thought it would be.

While I doubt I’ll ever forget Emily, her smile is something I know I’ll remember forever. Still, she was so much more than just a smile. She accomplished so many things in her 23 years. She made history. She touched lives. Mine included. I consider myself very lucky to have known her and to have been able to call her a friend.

“Her tenacity, her passion for life. One of the things that was important to Emily was not the fear of death but the fear of not living.” - Faith Bell