My best friend once told me, "I believe you are going to change the world one day." When those words came out of her mouth I was stunned, almost resistant in believing her. But then I realized she said that. When someone like her, one who believes in the present but still always holds hope, says that to you it kind of makes you take a step back and glance around with one eye open first, then you slowly open the second. The one eye that's closed tries to come up with what you want to see and what you hope for; however, when you open both, you are reminded of the now and of the present. You see the opportunities flying out you from every niche and corner of the earth. You start to believe in yourself because she made you open both of your eyes to hope.

Recently, there was a devastating car crash in my hometown, resulting in the passing of two beautiful girls and one in the ICU. I can't begin to describe the pain my community has gone through, but the joining of hurt and hope and love has brought tears to my eyes on numerous occasions. The amount of support Kendall has gotten is astonishing and doesn't go unnoticed. We, as one community, believe in her the way she believes in me. I believe in her because she made me believe in myself. She is courageous and has the heart of a lion.

As I reminisce about my memories with Kendall, I rediscover old truths and instances that make my heart smile. She always used to say, "Where would we be if we didn't pick each other as partners in kindergarten?" I really couldn't say. What I do know is we wouldn't have roamed around the street just because we loved being outside. We wouldn't have played every sport possible together, or started a tradition of making chocolate pecan pies with our families every year. We wouldn't have planned out our future lives, both emphasizing on the fact that we would always be best friends. Always.

Now it's time for you to believe in yourself, Kendall. We are all praying for you and thinking about you. God always works in mysterious ways, and often we think He is robbing us from happiness. He's not. This is how we grow stronger. We come together and we love one another. So, with our heavy hearts we turn to Him, and take refuge in Him. His grace leads to light, and light leads to life.

"We were crushed and overwhelmed beyond our ability to endure, and we thought we would never live through it...But as a result, we stopped relying on ourselves and learned to rely only on God." 2 Corinthians 1:8-9