to my angel

There's a place where we will see your face again.

It’s been two years since Katie went to heaven and I 'd thought I'd share things that are very dear to me of her.

This is my speech that I had presented at her memorial:
It was more than coming form the same orphanage, having the same name, going to the same schools, having close families, and being neighbors. Our friendship was about the lessons we taught each other. Katie showed me that life can knock you down; you just have to get back up and keep fighting. She had this quiet confidence that really amazed me. One time we were playing volleyball in the front yard and Katie declared that she was going to try out for the school's volleyball team. My dad asked her is she ever played on a team, and Katie replied, "No", but she was so determined to make that team. Guess what? She made the team! I didn't really understand why or how Katie was so confident. She didn't show her emotions a lot, but there was something inside of Katie that drove her to success. Last year, before Katie was diagnosed, Katie and I were going to join the Miss Teen Asia Pageant. Myself, not as confident as Katie was, let my fears take over. Sadly, I backed out of the pageant. Katie kept telling me to "just do it". She wanted me to have fun, to do the things that I wouldn't have a chance to do later on. Katie wanted me to get out of that shell I liked to hide in. She was my big sister who knew what was best for her little sister. Recently, when Katie was in the hospital, the medicines and the surgeries made Katie weak. She apologized for her weakness when I had to see her hold a grey bucket to her mouth. I promised Katie that it wasn't her fault...She may have been sick, when she couldn't even open her eyes to see my presence, but I could still see her confidence behind those pale eyes. She had plans. She was not going to let all of those things bring her down. I still wondered how she could be so strong at a time like that. Later, I realized that all this time, Katie knew God was with her, and nothing could stand against her. As years went by, Katie and I found our own set of friends. She got to become close with people at church, and I with people at school. That didn't mean we stop coming to each other's houses everyday. We had this bond that was inseparable. I would come to her house and we would just sit on her bed, no words, nothing. Katie would text and I would read her magazines like it was some Hannah Montana episode. We didn't have to talk, we were just happy to be in each other's presence. Actually to think of it, we never really talked, at all. There was no need, we knew what each of us had to say. It's true, silence can speak a thousand words. I miss you Katie. I will never understand why you were taken from us so young. Here's to you, forever and always.