I hope this translates well because my knowledge of languages other than English isn’t that great.

Alright, no pressure—just a message for the whole world. Here we go…

The beauty and cruelty of life lie in its unpredictability.

One moment, you’re on top of the world; the next, you’re doing everything you can to hold onto your sanity. Tomorrow, you could meet the person who changes your life forever, or you could lose a loved one.

There was a time when my life was going well, and then a laced joint at a party threw me into the depths of despair. I didn’t know the joint was laced with PCP, and it caused schizophrenic-like symptoms for six months afterward. I ended up in and out of the hospital for suicidal ideation seven times in just a few weeks and felt as though my life was crumbling beneath me.

With the help of meds, therapy, and amazing family and friends, I survived.

During that time, I relied on the Japanese craft and philosophy known as Kintsugi. While a bowl broken in half would usually be discarded, in Kintsugi, it is repaired with gold lacquer, making it even more beautiful and stronger than before. Philosophically, a person is never fully broken. You can overcome the worst of life and come back more resilient.

I thought I had faced my hardest battles, but 18 months later, I needed Kintsugi more than ever. My sister was my greatest example of resilience, and the events that followed would test my strength in ways I never imagined.

Despite living with Loeys-Dietz syndrome—a rare connective tissue disorder that mainly affected her heart—she never let her condition define her. She battled through two collapsed lungs and an open-heart surgery, where she was fitted with a cow valve. Yet through it all, she lived life fully, becoming a well-respected doctor, a loving wife, and an incredible mother to her two children.

Her strength was inspiring to everyone who knew her, and we believed she had overcome the worst when she made it through her second open-heart surgery.

But life had other plans. Shortly after returning home, a blood clot to her lung took her from us, leaving a void that will never be filled. She took the philosophy of Kintsugi to the next level—her resilience knew no bounds, and she left an indelible mark in her short 41 years.

I draw inspiration from her during the lowest times of my life and am grateful for the 32 years I had with her. I once told her in a poem, “With every day I’ve got left, I will make you proud, so that when we meet again and embrace, you will know that you were never forgotten.” I strive to live my life with purpose and meaning, not letting its unpredictability get to me.

The message I want to send to the world is this: Never give up. Don’t let your worst moments break you. Let them shape you. Let them teach you. And most importantly, let them remind you that even in the deepest pain, there is still the possibility of redemption.