  RIP Connie Wei-Luen Kao 09.05.1989 - 04.08.2002 Two whole years...how fast it's been. Seems like only yesterday we were playing around, competing against each other, and making complete fools of ourselves. Not a day goes by in which I don't think about how life would be different with you here, to help and to guide me, as you had done for 10 years. We truly brought out the meaning of "best friends forever"....and it was great. Meeting you the second day of preschool with Anna, running around the playground and screaming and laughing, has changed my life in a way nothing else ever could. We were the teachers' pets all the way through preschool, and we entered kindergarten together at Mesa.
I can still remember those sessions where Mattson let us do first grade work, and the worksheet about Donald Duck rowing the boat cracked us up for some silly reason. Everyday we would mess around and have fun and grow closer and closer. Second grade year, Wesley came, and the three of us grew even more inseparable. The fight between you and Wesley had me running around between the both of you....and yet, at the end of the year, we all emerged as one. We swore to be best friends forever, and only through the later years has that proven itself true. Your smile and personality eventually led you to become friends with everyone, and though we didn't "hang out" as often, our bond was never broken.
Our daily competitions for the better grade continued, and I remember the GATE test being pretty significant..... Everything was going great; we both excelled in every aspect and tossed challenges back and forth, and I can truly say those challenges that you put me up against shaped my life, and I hope mine did the same for you. Then came seventh grade year. I had been a constant show-up at all your birthday parties, always held the weekend before the beginning of the school year. This was the one time I turned you down to go with my family on vacation, and I regret that beyond all. I still remember the first day of school when we settled in Mekenian's seventh grade GATE class....you leaned over to me and said, "These are all smart people...I'm not going to be top of the class. " Even then you showed your impossibly accurate interpretation of the people around you.
The Friday before Spring Break was a happy one; after school, we met at the lockers and said our good-byes. How I regret not making more of our time together that day. The Monday back from Spring Break was the polar opposite. At first, I heard only snatches of conversation about what had happened over the weekend. Then I heard your name. Disbelief flooded inside me, denial took over.
Noranbrock broke the news to the class, and there was a stunned silence in the room. I couldn't believe it. I refused to believe. Second period, still in denial, I was addressed by Mr. Lee again about what had happened. The seriousness of the situation bit at me....I was still refusing to believe. Passing period, from second to third, hit me hard.
I passed by Wesley, and I saw her eyes. At once, my fears were confirmed. She had been undoubtedly crying, and I knew there was no way out. We hugged but said nothing. The bell rang. Into third period.
The counselors were there; they came to all your classes. It was then that I understood -- you were gone. The truth hit me harder than anything ever had; I broke down. Nor was I the only one to do so, more than half the class was. I remember the questions meant to help us. They did not console me; in fact, they hurt me further.
I realized and began to think back to all those times I could have talked with you just a bit longer, listened just a bit better, as you had always done for me. Mekenian came over after the counseling, and she comforted me. Nothing ran through my mind but the last image I had of you; the last glimpse of you I had....running out of the locker section towards Spring Break. The rest of the day was pandemonium. Chinese School, which had been your second home, and mine as well, greived as a whole. No one said much, but the feelings were unmistakable.
The funeral was held a week later, and attended by more than 800, all of whom had been touched by you, Connie, you, a 12-year-old girl who knew and accepted nothing but happiness and victory. I stood on the second floor, the balcony, of SkyRose Chapel and listened to the various eulogies given by the guests, and it shocked me, though it shouldn't have, the number of people you touched within 12 years. I had been one of the luckiest, to have known you for so long and been able to talk to you whenever I needed to. As I approached the casket, I was numb with grief and shock, for I was not yet ready to accept. I said my final good bye to you. Last year, this very day, was hard on everyone.
Your garden had been dedicated on the 5th of September, 2003. The various messages written on the table Calton had brought out brought me into remorse once again, knowing you had done so much for me, yet I did not come close to returning the favor. Graduation came, and the entire class thought about you as your presence was felt as the names were read off. You were honored. We were silent. And now, you have led me into a new direction once again; this is the most personal thing I have written in quite a while.
You were always there for me whenever I needed it, and, make no mistake, you still are. Ten Years Just Weren't Enough 'Twas the day back to school After the week of spring break. Little did I know I would soon learn something That would cause mine, and many more, hearts to ache. The students were socializing, Catching up on a week's sorth of separation. And then I heard the terrible news And thought it a figment of imagination. Came the words of my first period teacher, "There's been a loss to the Mesa Robles family," "Our friend and fellow student Connie Kao hass passed," And it was then I knew it true, and tears came readily.
Of course it was hard on everyone Who knew of the terrible news, But it depressed me greatly; I had known you since the age of two. I really couldn't see or realize what happened that day, Teachers and friends knew the bond between you and I, And they tried to console me, Each patting me on the back quite fondly. I tried to listen to my friends, Sure their intentions were true; Yet how to replace a best friend I'd known since the age of two? That day will stay forever in my mind: April 8, 2002; And now it's been a little over a year and a half. There is still nothing on Earth I would not give just to have you back. In Loving Memory Connie Wei-Luen Kao I miss you..... 
