Life's not fair.

I've heard this phrase countless times in my thirty-three years; I've even uttered it a time or two when I thought tough-love was the only option left. Often, I find comfort in the abruptness and finality of these words. Life's not fair. They don't lie; there is no candy-coating or rose-tinted shine for a scenario we all know can't be changed.

Today, however, I find little comfort in the truth presented by this phrase.

Life's not fair.

If it were, a young, seventeen-year-old boy with a slow smile and startling laugh wouldn't have paid the ultimate price for a bad decision. He would have had someone there to save him--to show him that some risks aren't worth the moment of adrenaline and freedom, no matter what life had shown him so far. He would have had time to grow-up and see how much he meant to the world--how much he could offer everyone around him.

Instead, he's gone, and we're here to learn the same lesson we're taught as children: life's not fair. And it's not always kind. I hate that most of all.

Your friends and family released balloons for you yesterday, Jacks, sending a piece of their heart to Heaven for you to keep, like they'll always keep a part of you with them. You didn't deserve this ending, sweet boy, you deserved more. So much more. I wish you had gotten it.

Rest easy wherever you are, Colby Waters-Jackson, and know that here on Earth, we're missing you, and wishing life were just a little more fair so you were still with us.

<3

Ras