A letter to my mentor

My first blog post comes with a heavy heart, as a week and a half ago my friend and mentor Kaya Firth passed away in a tragic kayaking accident. When I received the news, I was consumed by sadness and anger. How could someone who was such a light in this world be taken from us? I didn't know how to express my feelings about this situation, and I wanted nothing more than to be able to have more time with her. Time I felt that I didn't have nearly enough of to begin with. I experienced emotions that felt out of control, I felt sad, angry and guilty for feeling that way when I knew that there were other people who knew her better than I did, and I couldn't even begin to imagine the emotions that they were feeling. I have been looking for a way to say good-bye to Kaya, and the only way I know how is to write. 

Dear Kaya, 

They say that you don't know how special a person is to you until they are gone. I never understood that statement until now. I only knew you for a short time, and not nearly as well as I would have liked to, but you inspired me. I showed up to the first Ontarion volunteer meeting in September, excited about journalism, but with little experience under my belt. You told me not to worry and offered me advice anytime I might have needed it. I am sorry it took me a month and a half to write my first article, but thank you for being patient with me. Thank you for encouraging me to keep going even when I said I was too busy with other things. Thank you for putting your trust in me when you offered me the Canadian Press gig for the football game. Thank you for teaching me that I can be a writer, and I can be a journalist. Journalism is a career path that I had never really considered until I started working with you. Thank you for sending me your pitches when I couldn't make it to meetings. Thank you for always giving me constructive criticism and advice on my pieces. I know I have a long way to go with my writing, but thank you for inspiring me. I wish I could have gotten to know the person so many people were lucky to know. I wish I could have told you that I want to go to journalism school after Guelph and most of all I wish I could have thanked you for everything you have done for me. 

I hope I can continue to honour you through writing, 
​
Becky