September 14, 2003 a sixteen year-old girl and five of her friends were on their way to a CHS Players, Chillicothe High School's Dramatic Arts team, kick-off party in Chillicothe, Missouri. The young girl was going a little more than 40 mph on a gravel road near the high school. Her car began to swerve, and she lost control. Her car slammed into a nearby tree, and in an instant her life was taken from her. The others in the car were fine, all but one leaving with minor bruises and scratches. One boy, seventeen, was rushed to the local hospital but walked away with a few broken ribs and minor facial injuries.

That sixteen year-old girl was Amy Hawkins, one of my very best friends. She had such beauty and energy. When she spoke, everything seemed brighter and a lot funnier. Amy was probably the sweetest person that has ever graced this earth. Her absence is going to be a nagging hole in all of our hearts, but she is in a better place. All we can do is pray that her journey is a safe one.

There are many things in this world that baffle me. Death is definitely one of them. Everything has a beginning and rightfully has an end. However, when Death chooses a loved one as his next victim, a person can't help but wonder why.

Death by definition is "destruction or extinction." The definition is a sound one. When someone is ripped out of the world, out of our lives, we suffer from destruction. A hole appears in our lives and hearts that can never be filled. So why do we as humans have to suffer such a loss? What's the divine purpose behind death? What happens in the after-life? These are questions that no one will ever know. They part of the mystery of life. If there was one thing that I would want to know, it would just be why"