Recently I came across a video from author John Green about hope. The central message (paraphrased) I took away from his words was:

Chose hope. Nihilism is the easy way out. When you believe nothing truly matters, there’s no reason or motivation to fight for a better world. Choosing hope is the harder path, but it makes change possible — and inevitable.

This week, I lost a friend to Leukemia. Fi Milne hired me at the end of 2024 after a year of layoffs (a story for another time). We worked together for about 8 months before a sudden and disheartening diagnosis of Leukemia. The news of her passing this week shook me to my core, and I was frozen without words or actions. The world stood still, before it started to sink in over the next few days.

Over time as the sorrow progressed, I reflected more on who Fi was and what she meant to me and my team. Hearing how she impacted each member of my team was incredible — I was far from the only lucky one. One day on a walk, I was struck with a thought, and it was suddenly clear how her memory will be honoured:

Be like Fi

The timing of Greens message was coincidental, but it was the push I needed to dig deeper and dare to reach out to my friends here. Fi was an incredibly good listener — a skill I think we will all forever be improving. Initiating the conversation with them helped us all tremendously, whether it was reflecting on Fi or talking about unrelated topics and having a laugh.

I’m sorry things ended too soon Fi. Your memory will live on through the tremendous impact you had on everyone on your journey. Even in a relatively short time, you inspired me and helped me learn how to care more for my team members and provide support to those with the will to fight for a better world.

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