It’s been one month since we lost him, although it has felt like years. We’ve been grieving and attempting to continue on with our busy lives. Nothing is the same knowing he is not with us anymore. We talk about him all the time… constantly reminiscing on memories and laughing with one another. MSC FISH was not just a freshman organization at Texas A&M. We were and continue to be a family. Since Luke has passed away, we’ve been each other’s support system. And I couldn’t be more thankful for each and every one of them. Summer school has now ended and I finally experienced my first week of freedom. On Tuesday, a huge group of people met up in Houston to hang out and catch up at Mike's house. I was able to give Charley the digital scrapbook I made for her dedicated to Luke’s life at A&M. It was so good to see her smile and hear her laugh again. We had pillow talk, visited a candy store, and shared a tasty dinner together. Simply being with people that knew him makes things feel so much better. On Wednesday, I headed to Lake Travis with a few people from TAP (my school in FISH). We had talked about visiting Luke Hillin’s lake house all semester and I am so thankful we actually made it happen. We spent a few days on the lake and it was absolutely perfect. I drove a jet ski and a boat—and even wakeboarded for the first time. The weather was predicted to be stormy, but the sun was actually shining. I wish more than anything that our entire school could have been there with us, but my time spent with Laura, Christian, and Luke was unforgettable. We had so many great conversations, laughs, and countless memories. From Christian being well… Christian to getting stranded in the middle of Lake Travis for several hours, I couldn’t have been surrounded by a better group of people. TAP is perfect and our road trip to Lake Travis was a complete success. On Friday, I drove to College Station for the second FCXII work weekend. It was a very busy, yet productive weekend with Camp Duke—painting banners, creating DG/Cabin templates, rehearsing skits, and so much more. DG: Marriage Material is taking over FCXII. Camp is SO SOON and and I couldn’t be more excited. After work was finished, I headed over to Will’s house with a bunch of FISH people. Saturday night was all for Luke. We were standing with our arms around each other in a circle as we poured out an entire forty dedicated to him. We circled up inside and passed around the other forty—each person told a story with it in hand and took a sip for him. It was a very special night and I am so thankful I was able to be there. Texas A&M is a place filled with genuinely good people. There is a spirit that can never be told—even in the middle of July. Luke was the “glue” to our organization. He united us this year and continues to today. We’ve definitely seen better days and the grieving process continues, but we are confident that he will always be with us. We love you, Luke, and we know you’d be disappointed that we wasted that forty. It was all for you.
