LILIA POV:
When Amari got sick on Wednesday I could see it happening since she was always complains about the fame getting to her. I didn't mind it . I thought it was a blessing because this has been my dream since I started track. We even had offers of tuning pro straight out of high school. We both declined but told them to contact us after our freshman year of college. I felt amari energy change from the bubbly goofy Bff to tired overwhelmed and stressed Bff. That made me get worried we went from talking about all the cool things we were doing to questioning were we menu for all of this fame. Fast forward to the weekend when I lost my Bff . It was me, Amari, and 3or 4 other of our teammates . Everything seemed fine we were taking pic for ig, shopping. We were doing the usual things girls my age did. But hanging out for us want normal anymore . Every 2 seconds we would get recognized weather they wanted a picture from us or an autograph. That's when Amari said " she was tired of this" . Before I could say anything she dashed for the edge and jumped. I went after her until I stopped at the edge . First thing you heard was sirens . All I told the dispatcher was in the morgue was check her brain. My teammates all hugged me cause they knew how much she meant to me . We had to go to the police station but i was silent. In my head I was just confused why I was here cause when I saw my best friend died apart of me died. After I left the police station my mom asked me if I wanted fro yo knowing I had to say no because I had a track meet the next day. When I got home I held my build a bear that Amari got me for my 6th birthday and cried myself to sleep. The next day came and I decided to run because i know that's what she would want me to do instead of sobbing about my bff who could never come back to life. It was my last high school track meet ever. When I came on the bus I was happy that my friends acted like it was normal . Yet it wasn't thought my seat on the buss would have Amari sitting by me but she wasn't but my teammate kalia sat next to me . She told "it doesn't get better but you learn to live without her". She was the realest person I knew and I know she knew I was sad but then she said " do this meet for her and make it your best". That stuck with me . When we got to the meet it was 10 times the could like the stadium had to have at least 200000 people and it felt like was at the olympics. The crowd never scared me but I saw so many signs and reporters talking about my bff and a lot of signs saying " rest in paradise Amari". Also there was a hashtag saying " Stay strong Lilia". My coach gave the team their big talk and his last words was do it for Amari. That's what stuck with me. The starter said "on your mark, get set". The shot started all I was thinking was I got your back bestie. The race seemed to go really quick for me but when I saw 3:32 . I feel to the ground. The whole crowd was going crazy. I was shocked myself , then I decided to only get interview by one person and that was the first interview I had ever without Amari. When I was in the interview the only thing I heard was is it different without her. I said " yes this is my first ever interview without her ... I know I just broke another record but my person wasn't there to tell It could be better then give me the biggest hug. I started crying my last words were "I ran this race because I know she wouldn't want me to not remember this so I ran for her". After that interview so many supporters wanted me to talk to them . Usually I would, but this was my first time actually understanding that I really lost my best friend , the person who knew me better than anyone in this world. I went to the stand with my team to cheer on the rest of my teammates which was good because it took my mind off of things. My team ended up winning the whole meet. That's when I got a phone call about them wanting me to turn pro. I kept Amari and I pact that we would not turn pro until after our freshman year at Oregon. When I got home, Amaris mom said she was cleaning out her room and I was open to getting anything I wanted when I walked in the door and sat on her bed her dogs Rex and Emmi sat down next to me and cheered me up. I saw a letter to me from her . It said " I think I had a tumor on my brain which made me make do this decision. You are my BFF , this wasn't your fault . It also said" she did this because she didn't want to go through all the troubles of removing it". TRACK,LILIA,FAMILY was written big at the top. The last thing the letter said was "p.s. please go to college ,go pro, them become a pediatrician b/c I want your dreams to come true. Don't worry I'm running track In heaven .After I wrote the letter I went to the principal and asked him if we can put a poster on the track with Amari and I on it as a memorial with it saying " do what you love" and our signatures. Amari's mom said "it was a tumor on her brain that meant unnoticed. High school graduation was fun. Amari was valedictorian but I had the second highest gpa in the class so I said the speech . A brief synopsis saying "you guys have met friends that you will keep for a lifetime, so keep in touch and follow your dreams . After the graduation everyone was super proud of me. I got on social media for the first time since she left me and I put on Twitter my game plan. Everyone was really supportive. The last thing I did before leaving my small town in ga was went to her memorial and thanked her for being the best friend a kid could ever have and the last think I said "I'm gonna make you proud." I did just that . My first day of college was rough because I didn't have her but I got into the swing of things and got a tattoo with Amari name with clouds around it . My first year at college went well I still broke records in the mile, the i went pro and medical school at the same time. I was the first to do both . I also went to the Olympic representing the USA and got gold in the mile. After that I made 4 big purchases a purple and blue track with a top notch training facility in my small town of bowman,ga. That was In honor of Amari. I bought a house . My dream car which was a neon green Jeep wrangler and a finger monkey because that was Amari favorite animal. I finish medical school with my doctorate in pediatric cancer . It was Amari's dream to become a pediatric surgeon and I wanted to become a pediatrician. I continued to raise awareness for doctors to be more thorough with their exams to not make mistake like my besties doesn't happen again. I went on in my life and became the best in everything I did. Every year for a month I would do a tour of traveling to different high schools and talking to them about my journey. Amari will always be my best friend and I know she's proud of me . I'm thankful for my life and wouldn't have my life any other ways because with all the sorrow the triumphs don't even compare . My past has made me into the Lilia Jordan Johnson I am today.
