Losing my dad at 9 shaped me in ways I didn’t understand until much later. After several years, that pain still lingers. Then, almost four years ago, I lost a friend I deeply cared for — suddenly, to gun violence. It was a shock I never saw coming, and it reopened old wounds I thought had healed. And most recently, I lost my mother. Grief has visited me in different forms throughout my life, and each loss felt like another piece of my heart breaking. But over time, I’ve learned to give myself grace, talk about my feelings, and let healing come naturally. I’ve found peace in cherishing memories instead of avoiding them, and strength in knowing that love never truly leaves — it just changes form. Today, I use my experiences to remind others that while grief never fully goes away, it does become more gentle, and so do we.