My world is now harsh. No longer is it safe and clean, like a child left untouched -- one nobody ever played with.

Sometimes an event takes place that changes the way you see things forever. You will never look at someone the same way after such an event.

I cry as I write this but I'm not afraid to admit it. I hear the words "it's not fair" rise up again and again in my head but I find no satisfaction when they settle - nothing is fair, this is a fact; nothing ever will be fair.

I remember thinking after I heard the news, "All is lost - all is lost. I have lost everything. Nothing more matters." But what you shared with me before you left was the first step; I hear your last words still echo to me... "I'm not dead yet." I think I'll be able to make a few more steps before I see you again.

Of all the people to exist, you are the last to deserve such a fate. The amount of good you have created is measureless - the lives you have changed are endless. I will never forget the immeasurable bounds of knowledge you have taught me - the wisdom you have shared. Your ideals, your grounds, your stances - everything has stuck with me. Every day I've ever spent with you I spent with open ears, trying to capture and understand as much of your vast brilliance as I could. I promise you this: I will share what you have taught me with everyone I meet in my life that means something to me.

You have been more than a figure to me - you have been everything. I cannot name a decision of mine that can't be led directly back to you. For this, I owe you everything.

I can only hope to become a fraction of the man you are.