The passenger seat of my car feels so empty now without my best friend. It used to be booming and roaring, but now it’s just dull and quiet. I find myself turning up the volume louder than ever before to make up for the absence of her voice. There is not much success with my attempts, but I persist with this method each time, hoping that maybe it was just the wrong song. I would cross my fingers that a new melody with a different beat was the missing piece to the cure of this emptiness I feel without her by my side. My best friend moved back to Japan after her exchange year and I didn’t know what to do. I had spent the past year of my life pouring all of my thoughts and feelings into this person that had only ever shown me love and support while others were judgmental and cruel. I knew she was going to leave me eventually, and yet something inside me couldn’t let her go. It would’ve been easier for me to push her away and not become attached, but my loyalty to her was greater than the pain I would endure once she was gone. It is the most difficult loss I have ever experienced. I hate that when I take a quick glance over while driving my eyes are only met with a vacant, black, leather seat. I’ve tried to problem solve by letting other people sit in her designated spot or by putting a stuffed animal that had been won at the Champlain Valley Fair there, but it was still too barren for my liking. For a while, it felt hopeless, but I finally realized the solution: patience. When I realized I wouldn’t see her for two years, my whole world shattered. Something about telling her goodnight when it is only eight in the morning for me made me feeble, but in times of that feeling, simply thinking about how she asked me to be her last hug out of all of her friends in the airport before she boarded the plane rehabilitates me. I find myself constantly looking back on old photos and memories to pass the hours between our messages. Karin Iwazu, my best friend who lives 3,603 miles away, has taught me more things about myself than the people I grew up with in my small hometown. The most valuable lesson of all was that my dedication is my strength, even when I feel weak. Through all of the hardships and tears, I don’t allow myself to take the easy way out by simply surrendering myself. I continue to push my limits by looking at the bigger picture of who and what I am doing these things for, and that makes it all worth it. That empty passenger seat now fulfills me.

I am friends with everyone. I know what it is like to feel alone, and now that I am comfortable with where I am, I want to help others feel that way too. I want to be that person that people know they can rely on and go to when they need help. I want to be the person that people trust with anything. I want to be the person that people can depend on to brighten their day whenever they feel dismal. I want to be the person that makes changes in lives. As I walk through the halls of my school, I cannot make it to my next class without providing a hug in the hallways as if it is a part of my daily schedule; it might as well be a mandatory gesture that I could get graded on. I will never turn a hug down, either. I love being the warmth and comfort in my friends' lives on a day-to-day basis. I try to be a dependent beacon of light for those that feel lost in the dark, and by a small act like that, I feel as though I am accomplishing just that. When walking anywhere, I lock eyes with people and smile. My eyes squint and my lips stretch as I aim to provide support and relief in one's everyday life. I watch to see their own eyes glint and a smile plasters on their face, returning the small action that makes me giddy with happiness as well. Everyone is special and deserves to feel that way, so I want to reaffirm the specialty of each person. Although these daily acts may seem small to most, I understand best that they are huge to those that need them the most. Small acts of kindness go a far way and it is free to do. They are like water drops; individually, you may not notice them, but when it is all put together on a greater scale they create an ocean. That makes a difference in the world. I strive for difference and change. People of all kinds deserve to feel equal and loved, and I will take action to ensure that. One thing I have learned and will take with me throughout my life is that big change can not be made overnight. It starts small and grows progressively, which is exactly why I will continue smiling at random strangers I pass by or hugging all of my friends that I see, and why I encourage others to do so too.