Dear Jason,

Even in death, you affect so many people. You left a lasting impression on me, on your friends, and on the whole world. Even as I wipe the tears from my face, more fall from clouded eyes as I remember. Yet I smile between the tears.

I smile as I remember the stapler. I smile as I remember the brick. I smile as I remember that every time you failed, you got up and tried again. How you never turned your back on those who needed it most. And more tears fall as I realize how that was your downfall.

You will always be a beacon, a light to guide us when we are thrown into the pain and darkness of reality. You will always be a match to light the torches of our destiny, reminding us to never give up and to stay true to those you love and who love you.

Jason Grace. You will never die in our hearts. Because you live on in every door held open, in every kind gesture, in every stapler. You live on in every 'I love you' and in every bro fist bump. In every time someone stands up for justice, and in every time a complement changes someone's day and makes them smile. A smile is a powerful thing. You showed me that.

You've left behind a legacy. And it's the best one you could have left. Even in your short life, you touched so many people. Life may not have been kind to you in many ways, but you always gave kindness back into other's lives. Even in the smallest ways, you have changed the world.

Yes, it hurts. It always does. The pain of knowing that someone as kind, as courageous, as influential, as life-changing as you are gone. Of knowing that we'll never smile as you open a door to comfort us, and knowing that we won't be able to laugh at your jokes. But maybe because it hurts, do we fight on in small ways. Because we know that if you were still here, you would never stop being perfect, flaws, mistakes, failures and all.

So we open the doors for others, we smile and wave at strangers, we laugh when we staple something, we tell our loved ones how much they mean to us, and we spend time with our friends. Because we understand that life may be short. It can be cruel and take people from us. But if we continue their legacies, then they will never die.

Jason Grace. A humble, modest, powerful, influential, funny, kind, loving, beautiful, perfect person. Rest easy brother. Rest peacefully knowing that we continue your legacy. Rest, knowing that we will join you one day. Rest. Rest because you deserve it. 

Jason Grace: 

brother, 

lover, 

friend, 

fighter, 

son 

and inspiration. 

Forever remembered.