I like to wear dresses. I really do, but only for special occasions. August 27, 2010 was a very special occasion. That was the day my cousin Ramon was getting married. It was also the last time I will see him for a very long time.

It was a hot summer day in the Central Valley and I was at the location of the wedding with all of my relatives. There was a giant white tent, with peaks like fresh meringue, where the reception would take place. About a hundred yards away, on a beautiful lawn, was the site of the ceremony. A long aisle lined with silk and flowers was surrounded by white folding chairs on either side. At the end of the aisle was an arch covered in flowers, where the bride and groom would say their vows. The wedding was beautiful and lets just say no one was holding back with the waterworks. The bride and groom were candles, glowing with joy. Afterwards the reception was full of dancing, laughter and fun.

I was talking to my sister when I heard it, the yelling and fighting. I ran outside with everyone else to see my family fighting with the bride’s family. Why the quarrel happened wasn’t important, what was important was that Ramon was so mad at us he hasn’t talked to anyone in our family since.

He was great, the “life of the party” so to say. Now he is gone but the party must still go on. He’s gone but I now realize how much the rest of my family means to me. Is this good or right? Having to lose someone just to learn something? Would I even want the knowledge that my family would someday be ripped and broken because one of its members left us, never looking back? Would I want to leave Eden, to lose something just for the greater good of knowledge? Now that this has happened, and I have left Eden for good, I know how much this experience has affected my life, for the better and worse. I think that my loss was important because I gained so much from it. I now appreciate my family ten times more than I did before. Like Adam and Eve, I didn’t want to leave my Eden, but now that I have I know how much I have learned and how much I can appreciate my life.

I believe that society has to lose to gain because we always gain more than what was lost. The world is full of loss and gain and it will always be there for us to learn from it.