I’d like to take a moment to say “Thank You” to the Tinton Falls, New Jersey community for always coming together and supporting one another when something tragic happens. It’s not that I take things for granted, I’m just realizing that I need to be more appreciative of everyone and everything around me right now, because tomorrow we never know what will happen.

I never met Hannah, but in 2013 when I heard that a young girl in Tinton Falls had Cancer, I broke down. I still remember the night she passed as if it was yesterday. I was in my dorm room scrolling on Twitter and saw a tweet saying that Hannah had gained her angel wings. I immediately logged off Twitter to call my parents to tell them the news. I felt queasy and was shaking. I couldn’t focus on what else was happening at the time, I just felt broken. I want everyone to know that she battled it out until the very end. I remember reading the articles that her mom posted about Hannah’s visits to CHOP and how she brought so much joy and happiness to other children in the hospital. To this day, Hannah and her story continue to inspire and motivate me.

The Tinton Falls community came together as a whole and supported her family. I really wanted to come home and pay my respects to her, but couldn’t make it to the viewing or funeral. People who knew her and knew of her got involved in Hustle’s 4 Hannah, Relay for Life events, wore purple (which was her favorite color), and some of her closest friends even got her favorite number (three) embroidered on their Sweet Sixteen dresses. To this day, the stories and pictures that her mother shares warm my heart. I’ve never gotten the chance to meet her mom, but I can tell that she’s a gem. Her daughter’s wish was to never be forgotten, and I’ll be completely honest, the community I live in will never forget her and will continue to support her family.

Last year a young girl’s mother passed away, there was a family who lost both their mother and father, and just recently a brother and sister lost their father. When all of these life changing events occurred, our community came together to provide love and support for these families, raised money so that a proper funeral could be held and so that children could be fed and given gifts on Christmas. If it wasn’t for the students who passed on information to their parents, and for amazing parents such as Sue Levy Funck, Mrs. Guarino, and Mr. Tobin, our community wouldn’t be as strong as it is today.

"Passing it forward" is strong in Tinton Falls. Just like many others in my community, when I wake up I ask myself, “What are you going to do to make a difference in someone’s day today?” At the end of the day, if I’m able to realize that I made one person smile or remember that someone said “Thank you” to me, I’m able to realize that my day wasn’t wasted.