A light on the porch from Zack P.

If you are reading this in the dark, I want you to know something I learned the hard way. The unique darkness you have lived through is the unique ability to empathetically understand the darkness others carry, too. The grief you are holding right now is not a thing that breaks you. It is a thing that, eventually, lets you reach across a table and tell someone else they are not alone. That shared experience is how we guide each other toward the light. It is a responsibility we carry. My older sister Brittany was the kind of person who would stand up from the popular kids lunch table and walk across the cafeteria to sit with a kid eating alone. She would climb up on a park bench next to a stranger just to learn about his life. If she was in the room, you knew it. If you did not, she made sure you did. She used to say, be the reason someone smiles today. I did not know how to keep going after we lost her. What I know now is this: serving others is where the purpose lives. If you are grieving, the best thing you can do is get involved. Contribute. Show up. Especially on the days you do not want to. You are not alone. We share your grief, your mourning, your darkness. Together. This is the porch light she would have left on for you.