Her life stopped right in front of her eyes. Weeks had gone by and her beloved Aunt Julia was still in the hospital. Her family stood by her bedside every moment. The day Nora lost her aunt was the most detrimental moment in her life. The woman who practically raised her, her second mother, was gone.  She will forever be grateful for the time she had with her.

Sophomore Nora Regas, who sadly lost her aunt this year, on October 24 in Mckinney, Texas due to being ill. 

“From the start of grief I’ve been told over and over again that there’s no wrong way to handle it,” Nora said. “I always feel like I’m handling it wrong, but my feelings change daily so I assume I have to have handled it right at least once.”

Thankfully Nora has been surrounded by her many friends who have helped her through her loss. 

“Nora is by far one of the strongest people I’ve ever met,” Fabiana Rosario, Nora’s close friend, said. “She has gone through so much, and still manages to keep a smile on her face.”

Fabiana has learned so much from Nora, and she’s incredibly grateful for their friendship. 

“She’s taught me so much about what strength and being a true friend really means,” Fabiana said. “She’s showed me that love is the strongest thing a person can have.”

Grief is a struggle that many people suffer with but many can’t express. 

“Everyone thinks things like oh this could never happen to me or my friends or my family,” but it can,” Nora said. “People die and you get one chance to love them completely and with your whole heart.”

Even though her aunt isn’t here anymore, Nora knows there will always be a piece of her in her heart. 

“The day she died was unarguably the worst day of my life,” she said “But that night there was a beautiful sunset and I knew that was her right away “It’s one of my favorite and least favorite things to do; watch her use the sky as her canvas, and know she’s still here. I just wish I didn’t have to look to find her.”

The little things in life sometimes hold the biggest impact, even if we don’t realize it.

“I’ve said it before but it’s hard to realize the world doesn’t stop just because it feels like yours ended,” Nora said. “I don’t think this situation will ever be looked at in my eyes as changing me for the better, but I think she changed me for the better. She changed me for the rest of my life.”