Dear Anonymous,
Bryce was a kid of great character. He was a well-rounded athlete, a tall, dirty- blonde haired, tan boy, and definitely a ladies’ man. He was always fun to be around and loved to do anything that related to competition. He was one of my great, long- time friends.
I can’t even begin to explain to you how I felt the day I received the astonishing news of Bryce’s death. He had been having some trouble in school and had an argument with his mom, but nothing that is out of the ordinary for a teenage boy. He took his own life at the age of fourteen. He gave no clues to his plan, left no note, but as quickly as he came to this earth, he was gone.
I remember that day like it was yesterday. When I got home from school that day after hearing the news I ran to my room and cried. His actions triggered many thoughts in my mind and in the minds of others. Why would he do this? What was he thinking? These questions constantly ran through my head for the next few weeks. After finally coming to some kind of realization that he was gone from this world forever, I stumbled across your poem, “I’m Still Here.” It reminds that though someone you love is gone, they will always be here with you. It says, “When you start thinking there’s no one to love you, you can talk to me through the Lord above you” (Anonymous). This poem brought me peace and reassured me that Bryce, though his body is gone, will never be; his spirit will always be with us.
At his funeral I wrote a note on his casket, telling him how I loved him and that I missed him dearly, but that I knew I would get to see him again one day in Heaven. His casket was white, but notes filled with love covered it in different colors. There was a rainbow of colors on it, including red, green, blue, orange, and pink. His casket was filled with messages of compassion and love that filled the whole room. At that moment I realized that that was the last time I would ever get to see his earthly body again, and remembering this brought tears to my eyes. I know now that his “spirit is free, but [he will] never depart as long as [we] keep him alive in [our] heart[s]” (Anonymous). He will always be here with us…

Thank you