Stepping off the bus, and walking into a big mysterious place where musty lockers sat and tall 8th grade boys towered happened to be one of the most terrifying moments of my life. As I was walking to homeroom, I could hear people in the distance screaming, "Welcome to middle school, Sevie!" I wanted to turn around and run straight out of that school and never come back. Little did I know that very same day I would meet my best friend, Emma, who would change my life forever.

When I finally made it to homeroom (after getting lost twice) I could see the excitement in the other students' eyes for the first day of middle school. I knew a few friends from elementary school, but other than that, the faces were new and stranger. Suddenly, I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned around and saw this tall, beautiful blonde smiling at me. She said, "Hi, my name is Emma. What is yours?" From that day forward, Emma never left my side.

Emma and I did everything together. We went to all the school dances, events, and even played basketball together on the 8th grade team. We also got ourselves into a bit of trouble a few times, but I never have once regretted all those crazy and fun memories we had together.

High school came, and we grew apart. She played basketball, I played volleyball. I made different friends, and so did she. I would see her in the halls and of course I'd say hello, but sometimes I sat and regretted losing touch with her and wonder what happened. For two whole years Emma and I were best friends. She made me laugh until I cried, and when I had been upset I knew I always had a shoulder to lean on. I still will never understand what happened to our friendship, but I know that she went off and did some pretty amazing things, like getting involved in her church and changing and saving people's lives.

On June 5 2015, the summer before my senior year, the girls' soccer team played in the State Semi's and I ran into Emma at the game. She welcomed me with open arms, and even invited me to go swimming with some of her friends after the game. I told her I would let her know later. I never ended up going. That was the last time I would ever see Emma.

Emma passed away that night at 3 AM. She suffered from lymphocytic myocarditis, which is a viral infection that attacked her heart. It is only found in one in 50,000 athletes. When I heard the news the next morning, I did not even know what to say or think. I had a rough couple of weeks, especially the day of her funeral. Sitting in that church, seeing her body, and thinking of reasons why God could let such a terrible thing happen to such an innocent, beautiful soul. I lost myself that day, I drowned myself in tears and wondered how this could have happened. I would pray every night to just see her smile, her laugh, or those big brown eyes just one more time..but it was no use, she was gone.

It's been over a year now since she passed away, and I still think about her everyday. I wish I could have told her so many more things before she became a beautiful angel in heaven. If she were looking down right now, I would want her to know that I am sorry. Sorry for losing touch, sorry for every time I made you upset or made you cry. I also want to say thank you. Thank you for all of the laughs, life lessons, and pranks you helped me pull. But, most of all, thank you for being my first friend in middle school, and showing me that it's not so scary after all.