“Christina, Oh my god” A text message that no one ever wants to wake up to. I had just woken up at my friend’s house and we were all sitting around the kitchen table when my phone vibrated with the text message. I remember the day so clearly and vividly that I received it from my friend Kristin; my mind automatically assumed it was going to be amusing because she always has something interesting to say. I was wrong. After waiting what felt like five hours for the next message to come in, my heart was racing already. I opened it as soon as the light blinked red and was immediately in shock. “Taylor is dead.” My eyes widened and I dropped my phone into the basket of metal utensils. Millions of questions were running through my mind. How did this happen? Why her? This could not be true. My friend’s heads shot up and gave me confused looks until they noticed something was wrong. Tears welled up in the corners of my eyes, blinking was the only way to clear them. I told them that our friend Taylor had died and they didn’t believe me. At first no one knew if the news was true or if she was just badly hurt. We sat in silence all feeling each other’s pain.

Why did this have to happen to her? Taylor was the last person that deserved this, she was the kind of girl that walked into a room and brightened up everything up. Taylor had been in my life since I was about nine; we did competition gymnastics together at Gymnastics Plus until sixth grade. Middle school gymnastics takes me back to such vivid memories of her always fouling around, cracking jokes, and excelling in her floor routines. She would always come up with unique moves to add into a routine that made you stand out, she was the “go to girl” when it came to making a new routine. The time came for us to part our ways when she went to high school and I was still stuck in middle school. We still stayed friendly, but not how things used to be with us. Seeing her walk around high school was like seeing a different person; she was a party girl now. Yea, she made mistakes and did things that people should never do, but no matter what no one deserves this as a consequence. She should have been able to learn from her mistakes from this, but instead we learn from her absence from the world.

“We all die. The goal isn't to live forever, the goal is to create something that will.” Taylor did create something that lasted forever, she left memories in everyone’s mind that are unforgettable. Before she passed away, I would only see her at the gym a lot and at the salon. So when her wake came around I really wanted to go to see her one last time and pay my respects. The wake was one of the saddest days of my life. It was one of those cloudy rainy days that just brought down your mood from the weather. Everyone that went to our high school was there, all crying hysterically on each other’s shoulders. My best friend Sam and I went together and it was so hard to keep it together. At one moment a group of her best friends came running out crying hysterically and screaming, I couldn’t help but turn my head the other way and let the salty taste of tears run down my cheeks. Her older sister followed them and sat down on a bench next to us screaming hysterically “Why” and “No, Taylor no.” As we turned the corner into the abbey room it was full of crying family members and friends. Her mother recognized us from gymnastics when we were younger and told us that Taylor had the best times with us there. It brought tears to my eyes that I hadn’t seen this woman in over six years and she still remembered me. Her best friend was on the floor balling her eyes out next to her casket. When we were done paying our respects in the room we walked out the back where the line was to go in. I saw one of my friends and immediately fell into his arms crying hysterically and he began crying too. He told me it was all going to get better soon and that Taylor would always be with us in spirit. Walking to the car I could swear that all of the clouds opened up and the sun shown through for a quick glimpse. It was almost as if Taylor was ready to leave us all and finally go to heaven.

Taylor Ann was a girl put on this earth to make good things happen. She always had such an amazing impact on everyone in her life and could put a smile on anyone’s face. When she left this world on April 17th ,2011 she left behind a loving family and friends. No one will ever understand exactly what happened and why it had to be her, but everything happens for a reason and Taylor’s passing was a way for all of us to learn from her mistakes and to say goodbye.