"We get so worried about being happy that we end up missing out on happiness altogether. We’ve been taught and conditioned to what ‘happiness’ is that we don’t recognize it when its in front of us. Stop waiting for the magical moment of pure bliss, and start enjoying any small fragments of happiness you can find...It’s the feeling you get in your stomach when you’ve laughed so hard. It’s going to a fountain at 12:00am to celebrate a birthday. It’s wandering the streets at 3am with your friends. It’s kissing your crush on a mid summer’s night. It’s the little moments that seem insignificant that have all of the significance. Be brave, take risks. Nothing can substitute experience."

"Years have passed since you’ve left. I’m not the same person that I was when you left. I sometimes wonder what could have been if I was a different person. I know there’s no going back to the people that we once were, but when I look at the horizon and see the mountains, I can’t help but think of all of the mountains we climbed and plans we made together. Life took you away too soon, and I’ll never forget what you told me that night you left, ‘I hope you find the happiness you’ve been pretending to have.’ Only, I never was pretending, I was just too naive to know how to show you how happy I really was, and now I’ll never get the chance. You never know the last time you will see someone. You don’t know when the last conversation will be, or the last time you will look into their eyes and thanked God they are in your life; and after they’re gone, that’s all you will think about day and night.” 

"I’ve always had a fascination with the concept of ‘the end’. What happens at the end? Does it all matter? Was it all for nothing? I’ve struggled with the idea of what kind of legacy I’ll leave behind, and if it will be one worth remembering. I fear that I will leave behind something that is not worth remembering and that it will it fade away into a memory forgotten as my body fades into the lost past of yesterday. In my pursuit of creating my legacy, I have feared that that my journey will one day lead me to a point where I won’t recognize the person I’ve become when I see my reflection. That I will have become so lost within the monotony of routine and effort of creating something worth remembering, that I won’t creating anything that is worth remembering.

Today, I still want to leave a legacy that lives on after I do, one that is worth remembering, but I’m no longer afraid to look into my reflection. I know who I am, I know who I want to be. Every morning I’ve asked myself the same question that has kept me grounded as I continue my journey. I’ve always asked myself, 'what would the child you once were think of the adult you have become?'"

"I’m not afraid to walk this world alone. I’ve learned to walk away from anything that no longer makes me happy; however walking next to you is the happiest I’ve ever been and is one of my favorite memories, and one I don't want to lose. I never thought something so simple could make me so happy. When I think about all of the places we’ve walked side by side, I realized that while I wasn't afraid to walk this world alone, I don’t want to walk this world without you. You are the best memory I’ll ever have, and at the end of the day, all we are going to have is memories, that’s it and you have to make as many as you can, cause that’s all you’re going to have, but no matter what happens… some memories can never be replaced and some memories never fade."

"I’m not saying I went there looking for some form of spiritual awakening. I know what I’ve been taught, but more importantly I know what I believe. At the same time there’s been a lot more hate and pain in the world lately. It’s easy to doubt. You can’t check your phone without reading about some bomb or shooting happening; and every time it’s the same thing. Some fancy politician gets on the evening news and offers his prayers and sympathies to all those who are affected. I wonder when the last time they wondered among their constituents. Others take advantage of the opportunities to push their agenda in the wake of the devastation. Political parties further divide themselves on the same debate that will again fade until another situation brings it up. And then the blame comes and everyone is rushing to put the blame on the first thing that fits, as if they are carrying a ticking time bomb; but no one wants to admit that maybe we are the ones at fault. We are too busy labeling and placing the blame that we can’t see that these are attacks against humanity, humans, our mothers and father, our brothers and sisters. Why do we have to label something to understand it? Why can’t can’t we acknowledge what happened and evoke change? We don’t want your thoughts and prayers, we don’t want another vigil, we want change, not talks about it, real change. But I don’t think that’s possible, because as much as we want change, few of us are actually willing to put forth the effort required. The circumstances are dire enough, which scares.

I don’t know what’s worse, the fact that these situations keep happening, or that we are becoming numb to it because it’s keeps occurring. I’m not here to tell you what to believe or think, I’m just here to pray. Walking into this church I felt something I haven’t felt for a long time…peace. I can’t help stand in awe and sense of reverence in this place. I prayed for you. At every church I could find. I lit a candle and prayed for you, your family, your friends. I prayed that you’d find the peace, purpose, and love that you’ve been so desperately seeking. I don’t know what I was looking for that day, but what I found, what I found was what I needed."

"When I first moved to this city, I didn’t think I would be as happy as I was back home. I was all by myself in this new city, a new place I’ve never been. No one likes to be the “new kid,” and I instantly felt like I was in high school again. I felt so alone and unwanted; then I met you. I never told you how much you meant to me when I first met you. I never told you this, but I know I’m who I am today because I knew you. You were the first friendly face in a crowded place. I’ll never forget that. And now when I look back I realize that so much of me is made of what I learned from you. You always talked about wanting to make a difference in people’s lives; to changing them. I never told you this, but you changed my life by being my friend."