Who I am…. I am a daughter of a strong woman… and a “forever young” man… A sister to two guys, one being the teenager so full of angst and the other a member of the United States Air Force. I am a granddaughter to a lady who has truly loved and truly lost… I am a niece to an uncle, who almost gave up on himself… I am a cousin to a young lady that hopes to follow in my footsteps… But above all, I am Chelsea.
Packing up my belongings and saying my good-byes in Florida, moving to the city that never sleeps, and going to a school where I knew no one was what I thought to be the toughest events yet in my eighteen years of life. The transition wasn’t as difficult as I imagined it would be. People were welcoming, supportive, and oh so friendly. I thought at this point I had figured out who I was and where my life was heading.
Then, on an old regular Thursday, October 6 to be exact, a crack in my perfect was world was revealed. There was nothing interesting about that day; I woke up, got dressed, and went to class. Walking up the stairs during club hours to meet the rest of the softball team for practice, my phone rang. It was a familiar name that popped up on the screen, a familiar voice that answered when I asked “Hello?”, but the information I received was not so familiar. At that moment, I found out he was dead. “He” was someone I had dated, had known, and had truly loved. “He” blamed me for his crazy outbursts and reckless behavior. “He” was the one who was driving, drunk, and crashed into two trees. And after speaking to his mother and closest of friends, I, I was the only girl he ever loved, and the one he was planning on chasing after his whole life.
Being a thousand miles away from everyone I knew, speaking through texts at his memorial, receiving a large amount of texts and phone calls about the situation, hearing his mother say she missed and loved me, and sending the eulogy I had to write, in an email, was the hardest set of things I’ve ever experienced. But, this event was the one that truly revealed who I am. I am a young lady who doesn’t always have the right answers or always know the perfect thing to say. I have imperfections that bother me, but no one will ever see. I am a giver, of my heart and mind. I am the one who believes in love. I adore my family more than anything in this world. I have a passion that shines so brightly, it is often misunderstood. I am the one who cries for others, when they are too weak to do so themselves But, I am strong, willing, and able and I am the girl who will live in honor of him, and his love of life. I am, Chelsea. 
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