When we first make new friends, we have no way of knowing how they will change our lives. At around this time last year, I had the pleasure of meeting someone who still influences me today. We did not see each other every day, nor did we talk often. Yet the brief time I spent with her made all the difference. Sadly, it has been half a year since her family and friends lost her to a hard-fought battle against cancer.

Kirran Shoaib was the type of person that you met and instantly fell in love with. Within seconds, she had you smiling. Just the first time I met her, she had introduced me to her entire family through the photos she proudly showed off on her phone.

She was so strong that despite how sick she got and how grim her future looked, she always stayed positive. She never gave up and continued fighting her sickness. Even up until those last moments, she talked about the things she would do when she got better. While her friends and family worried about what was to come, she took it upon herself to crack jokes and make everyone smile.

These brief encounters with her have been amongst the most meaningful in my life. The love she had for her family teaches us to never be unappreciative of our own. Her optimism while fighting cancer shows us that we should never give up, regardless of how big of an obstacle we might think we’re facing. And her selflessness up until the very end is exemplary of how we should all live.

Kirran means light and I cannot think of a name more fitting for someone who did just that – bring light into the lives of everyone around her.

Five months have passed, but her memory is as alive as ever. Please remember Kirran and her family in your duas.