Tori's Birthday

Today is Tori's birthday. 10-9-87. 

She was just so cool. It's amazing to see how many people's lives she brightened. 

It's raining today. The pumpkin candles are lit, and I've been listening to Louis Armstrong and Ray Charles all morning.

With Tori gone, it feels more than ever that our high school and college years are where reality exists, and everything that has happened since is just some dream someone's having about the future. It's hard to imagine a high school reunion without Tori. It's hard to imagine never hearing someone call me "Panda" again. Not that I'm particularly attached to the name, but Tori was the only person who ever called me that. She was just so adorable. Always laughing. So much of who she inherently was is what I aspire to be.

There's nothing I can say that isn't incredibly cliche. Yes, I can't believe she's really gone. I can't wrap my mind around the idea that there is no Tori anywhere. I am so, so incredibly grateful that I was such a weirdo in high school and carried a camera around all the time. Here's an unfortunately short clip of Tori when I ran into her after class one day.

We love you Tori.

Take care.

xoxo

Amanda Rachel