Being the only girl in my family had in perks, but it also became a bit of a burden. Although my brother and cousins did everything in their power to include me in their daily routine of video games and mischief, I felt like I was missing a piece of me. My brother who is seven years older than I am has dozens of friends, but there are three in particular who mean the world to me: Sarah, Katie, and Melissa. As soon as I met them, I knew how important they were going to become. Since then, they have always been around, and the more time I spent with them the more they taught me. I can easily say that I would not be who or where I am today without a little help from my "sisters".

Sarah has shown me through the years how to be yourself and do whatever the hell I want to do. She showed me how I can do whatever I want, and not to worry so much about what other people think. To give you an example, she walked out of her house dressed up for a Harry Potter midnight movie premiere. Head to toe, Sarah had to have the most elaborate costume representing Professor Albus Dumbledore. Out of all of the characters in the series, Sarah chose Dumbledore. My family and I can still see my brother shrinking in his seat while he stared at his unrecognizable best friend. Sarah didn't care though; she did what she wanted to do without thinking of the people around her, and what they would say. As I spent years admiring this quality, I began to start developing myself. Though it is difficult, it is not impossible.

Sometimes we have surprise guests at our door when my brother comes home for a few days. With Katie, we would hear a knock on the door or the doorbell ring and when you open that door, you just know. When you hear excited exclamations, it's Katie; that's what I love about her though, and this is what she has taught me. In my eyes, Katie has always put positivity on blast. No matter what the situation may be, Katie has always made the best of it and looked at the brighter side of the situation. Without Katie, I am not sure how I would approach problems. Because of Katie, I always tell people I love to make the best of a situation because I want Katie's positivity to shed a little light on others.

Melissa was always so cool to me; her bold red lipstick, her ambition, her sarcastic jokes, and her amazing personality was everything I wanted to be when I grew up. Melissa introduced me to all of these things, and as I grew up I recognized a lot of Melissa within me. I remember when I was very young, I was sitting behind her in the car. As my brother and his three best friend joked around, I noticed that Melissa had an interesting habit. She kept running her fingers through her hair to fix it, but to me this was something cool kids did. Melissa was so cool, and as I said before I wanted to be her when I grew up. I started running my fingers through my hair the way she did, and fifteen years later it is a habit that I cannot stop. Melissa taught me how to chase after your dreams, and be who you want to be. She taught me to go after what you want, and don't stop until you get there. She reached for the stars, and she got so far in the process. She moved to California to for herself and her dreams, and she succeeded. She wrote songs, articles, and most importantly her own episode on Grace and Frankie.

Melissa lost her fight to Breast Cancer at the age of 26 in May 2018, and this wasis the hardest loss any of us had have to face. We are still having a tough time trying to wrap our heads around what happened, and why it happened. As I live my life, I will always remember what Melissa has taught me, and as a nineteen year old girl I think it's really necessary. Melissa had such an impact on everyone she spoke even one word to. Everyone she came across has been touched by her personality and talent.

My family and I are, I hate to say it, used to getting phone calls that carry bad news, but this one was the hardest. A daughter, a sister, an aunt, a cousin, a best friend, and brilliant individual was lost through that phone call. A phone call I will never forget, along with Melissa. To lose someone you love so much, who passes so young is heart shattering.

Facing this tragedy has been difficult to say the least, but it's possible. If you are in the position of losing a loved one at a young age, you are not alone and you will never be alone. There are no exact words to describe the feeling when someone you love so much passes away, especially at a young age.