On the night of Friday October 23rd, I was told a good friend of mine had cancer. I had seen her on that Wednesday and she seem perfectly fine. Now she was on our rival field hockey team and I know we were taught never to be friends with the enemy but I just couldn’t help it. She was the nicest girl you would ever meet and got along with everyone. I had become really close with her since we played Wisconsin Select Field Hockey together.
The day of the state game rolled around and I was so excited because I mean come on…. Making it to the State Field Hockey Game. That’s a pretty big accomplishment. Now we start to play and I don’t see her anywhere, she is usually sitting on there bench. I kept playing thinking, Where was she? I had no idea that when I got home on Sunday, I would find out that something was wrong.
I walked in the door Sunday morning when I returned home from a sleepover and I walked upstairs and sat on the computer. My mom called me down and I thought I was going to get in trouble. I remember my mom saying “Mallory, you remember Tessa from USM (University School of Milwaukee)? Well on the night of the state game after her team told her they won. She died an hour of colon cancer that I spread worse to her liver and other places. I remember crying for hours and too this day I still cry, when people speak of her.
Tessa had the biggest impact on my on my life and now I live my life by the simple saying, “you can’t do anything about the length of your life, but you can do something about its width and depth.” She made me live my life like there was no tomorrow.