Ripple

Dear Diary,

Ariana Nova Davis, calm, kind, innocent, reserved, compassionate and still very much popular in high school was my best friend. She was the golden girl, friendly towards everyone, and always aware of the needs of others.

She always found a way to help those around her, be it a child or an elderly.

I was the type of girl that was never noticed, had a lot of issues, felt insecure and participated in nothing.

Every morning when I look at the clear skies, I can still remember clearly when Ariana transferred to Rosehill High in freshman year, she walked through the doors with a vibrant smile on her face and walked up to me and asked me to direct her to the Secretary’s office, I had to look around twice and ask if she was talking to me. That was the beginning of the greatest friendship I ever had, Ariana showed me and the world what true kindness was, she had this sense of empathy and compassion that she has to help everyone around her, whether a struggling classmate, a teacher, even the janitors.

Ariana was loved by everyone including the teachers, she joined the Students council and became the president, also joined the drama club and reading club just for her to help everyone. She was often nominated for class awards, she attended a lot of competitions and met a lot of great people.

She was always guided by a deep sense of empathy and compassion and had been attuned to the needs of others. She inspired a lot of students and teachers also through everything she did, everyone wanted to be like her and be noticed by her, to be smiled at by her.

I remembered when a girl in our class had a problem, I think her boyfriend cheated on her and embarrassed her to the whole school during summer break. She resumed back to school so broken and looked all Emo, her friends avoided and she was alone. Ariana went to her to help her and became her friend, she tutored her, made us sit with her during lunch and did homeworks together. After the whole progress the girl made throughout the whole year, the boy transferred to our school and she was back to square one but Ariana didn’t give up, and helped her move on from the boy and also had to help her mingle with people again.

I could always count on her, she listened to every problem I had and helped solve everything. As the years went by, her compassion only grew, she volunteered at different places, did a lot of community support and also created a website she shared her kindness. I would always be grateful for her friendship and kindness, she showed me the world through new lens.

Diary, Ariana died of Leukemia last year, during the fight and till her last breath she showed her kindness, she gave to charity, foundations, even helped people in the hospital around her. She achieved her purpose in life to help people be heard, seen and valued, and the purpose guided her throughout all her life. Ariana shared her kindness and compassion to everyone and it moved like a ripple to touch everyone around or in close contact to her and I have learnt to have the same ripple effect in my life and also help people all around me.

Her compassion has shown me and helped me seek out opportunities to help and lend a listening ear to people. She has been a great inspiration to me and everyone she touched.

I understood the true meaning of International Women’s Day as celebrating the power of connecting and the importance of supporting each other. Every day I always remember the way Ariana Nova Davis inspired me to be a kind and compassionate person.