Everything happens for a reason, this I believe. I believe that when I make the decision to turn right instead of left in the hallway, it’s for a reason, that when I get caught in a lie it’s for a reason, I believe that death, as unexplainable as it is, has a reason. Things happen, events take place, and it is hard to see in the moment or sometimes ever, what good can come from it or if there really was a meaning behind events such as death of a loved one or a tragic heart break. Good times and bad everything happens for a reason this I believe.

Life was good. This year was predestined to be our year, being the last year we all had together before some of us left for school or just to get out of this small town down by the bay. Bonfires every weekend, staying out late, making jokes, and listening to our favorite “hoe down country music”, and simply enjoying being young and alive. I had always thought of myself to be a strong believer in the statement “everything happens for a reason”, I really had no idea what that meant or had my belief truly tested until Sunday, September 30th 2012 when a close friend was taken from us. I had experienced the loss of a great grandfather, or of an old family dog, but I could always justify these loss’s “oh it was their time they lived a long and happy life” or “it’s okay it was meant to be”. This just seemed so unreal and heart breaking, the kind of heart break that doesn’t stop hurting. The kind that lives on, tugging at my heart and replaying through my mind. Days went by like weeks instead of twenty four short hours, I thought I had lost my belief, my hope that things happened because something decent or respectable would come from any event, heart breaking or marvelous. My group of friends gathered together every night for a week after that Sunday, some of us had been so mad at each other for months and weren’t even talking, or some of us really hadn’t talked that much since freshman year. We were growing up, maturing, traveling down different roads and really the only thing we still had in common was our friendship with this one incredible boy. That week we realized how much we still needed each other and that, as hard as it is to say, I realized that I still believe that everything happens for a reason. As hard as it may seem and as much as it will always hurt, the loss of our loved one brought my friends and I so much closer and changed our lives. I believe that even the worst event can bring something good to our lives. I will forever love the boy that brought us all together, our friend, and will always remember him as the great guy he was, who was always giving and smiling. The loss of our friend brought my friends and I all together, this I believe.