Anyone that lives on Western Campus has a love hate relationship with it. You are in the woods and literally isolated from all the other dorms. Yes, you love to hate everything about the walking distance to everywhere and anywhere. But the beauty of the leaves when fall hits, the morning sun rising behind the trees each morning, and the wooden trails make up for it.

At the beginning of the school year my friend made the long haul over to Western Campus. Freshman year is hard and it's so easy to think that you chose the wrong place. My friend had been having second thoughts about choosing Miami.

"I had been having second thoughts, but then I walked over here. I had never walked over here before and I thought to myself: "How could you not give this place a chance?"'

How could you not give it a chance?

My friend passed away this week and although I am heartbroken, I know she is in Heaven for this reason. She chose to take a chance. She took a chance on life when it got hard. She took a chance on everyone she met, never judging a book by what it may appear to be. She gave second chances and thirds. Despite the curveballs that were thrown at her, she always new life had new chances coming her way.

You are still living and breathing. So if you take anything away from this, I hope you give chances where they are needed. Give them to people that always seem to knock you down, knowing that they need them the most. Give them to the people that you love. Give them to places. Give them to life. And most importantly give them to yourself.