Hey Mal,

When I close my eyes and think about 16 years of friendship, it’s as if I’m staring through a kaleidoscope of memories. All I can do is smile and watch in awe as each memory we made whizzes past my view like a firework show. The memory of us at 9 years old watching Shrek in your parent’s room quickly blends into the sight of you and your “glam squad” waving to me from across the street as you filmed your bat mitzvah video.

I see us in high school, nibbling on frozen fruit and drinking cappuccinos while we laughed for hours and crammed for AP exams. Us strutting to Pinkberry with the IV pole my mom dressed up as your boyfriend. And the last text message you wrote me, which read – “I love you so so much”. You always made me feel loved and appreciated.

And when all the blended memories have settled to the bottom of the kaleidoscope, all I can do is take a step back from the empty view with an unexplainable amount of gratitude for everything we shared. Mal, I love you so much and will miss you terribly.

Each of us has our own kaleidoscope of memories from our time with Mal. The beauty is that we can take it with us wherever we go, turning it over and over to remember the incredible woman that brought everyone in this room together.