“COMPLETELY. Utterly. Frozen. My eyes drop to the table in front of me when she finishes. Her words are sinking in. A boy that I'm seriously, deeply, madly, incredibly, and undeniably in love with. In love with?That's what she said.In love with. As in present tense.She loves me. Layken Cohen loves me.”

“I got schooled this yearbyaboy.A boy that I'm seriously, deeply, madly, incredibly, and undeniably in love with.And he taught me the most important thing of all...To put the emphasisOn life .”

“I got schooled this year.By everyone.By my little brother...by The Avett Brothers...by my mother, my best friend, my teacher, my father,andbyaboy.a boy that I'm seriously, deeply, madly, incredibly, and undeniably in love with...I got so schooled this year.By a nine-year-old.He taught me that it's okay to live lifea little backwards.And how to laughAt what you would thinkis un-laughable.I got schooled this yearBy a Band!They taught me how to find that feeling of feeling again.They taught me how to decide what to beAnd go be it.I got schooled this year.By a cancer patient.She taught me so much. She's still teaching me so much.She taught me to question.To never regret.She taught me to push my boundaries,Because that's what they're there for.She told me to find a balance between head and heartAnd thenshe taught me how...I got schooled this yearBy a Foster KidShe taught me to respect the hand that I was dealt.And to be grateful I was even dealt a hand.She taught me that familyDoesn't have to be blood.Sometimes your familyare your friends.I got schooled this yearBy my teacherHe taught meThat the points are not the point,The point is poetry...I got schooled this yearBy my father.He taught me that hero's aren't always invincibleAnd that the magicis within me..I got schooled this yearbyaBoy.a boy that I'm seriously, deeply, madly, incredibly, and undeniably in love with.And he taught me the most important thing of all...To put the emphasisOn life.”

“I stand up and walk forward, grabbing the arm of the desk chair. I sit back down on the bed and pull her to me until she’s flush against my legs. I place my hands on her cheeks and force her to look at me. “Layken Cooper, I love you. I’ve loved you since the second I laid eyes on you and I haven’t stopped loving you for a second since.”

“She doesn't speak, but she doesn't have to. I know in these moments, when it's just her and me and nothing else, that she truly, soul-deep loves me.”

“Layken Cooper, I love you. I’ve loved you since the second I laid eyes on you and I haven’t stopped loving you for a second since.”

“God Layken. How do you do it? she says. She blows her nose and grabs another tissue out of the box. How do I do what? I sniff as I continue to wipe the tears from my eyes. How do you not fall in love with him? The tears begin flowing just as quickly as they had ceased. I grab yet another tissue. I don't not fall in love with him. I don't not fall in love with him a lot!”