Most people will never understand what it takes to work twice as hard to go half as far. Most people will never know what it is like to fight so hard to be seen to be herself instead of a girl with several debilitating, all-consuming illnesses. Ariana Ehrenthal was a fighter who tragically passed March 15. Ariana was the person that you felt lucky to even know. Having her in your life meant having someone who really saw you, who understood you, and was there for you when you needed it most. 

Ariana was a senior at Olympic Heights High School. Her future was bright: Graduation was on the horizon, and she planned to attend college and earn a nursing degree to spend her life helping those in need. Her personal hardships with her health unfortunately put her down a different, shorter path.  Yet Ari never saw her illnesses as something that would stop her from making the most of life. She worked hard and she worked through life’s obstacles, doing her best to keep everyone else happy before even thinking about herself.  

Nurse Karin Banuchi, who helped Ari at OH, describes her as the girl who “came in, got things done, and always had a positive attitude even when she was struggling.” 

That was the thing about Ariana – she always had a positive disposition. It’s something people try so hard to learn: how to be empathetic, kind, caring, and selfless. For Ari, it was like second nature. Nobody could understand her life, how she was able to be so strong when life kept telling her to stop. She was somebody who never really understood how amazing she was, never thinking of herself first but instead wondering what she could do to be there for everybody else. 

I met her when I was 14. We clicked instantly. There were three of us: Ari, me, and our other best friend Jade Mendes, who is also a senior at Olympic Heights. Ari was our best friend, our sister, and we never thought of having to spend our lives without her. We never thought of holding her as just a memory, someone who wouldn’t be there to watch us graduate, get married, and have kids, all of the milestones she should have been able to achieve as well. To us, Ari was everything. Ari was the person we went to when nobody else seemed to care. Ari was the girl you admired not just because of her beauty but because of her sweet and generous heart. Ari was a sister, a daughter, a girlfriend, a best friend. Her disease took her too soon, but she is remembered as the kindest, sweetest, most beautiful girl anybody could have the pleasure of knowing. It was a privilege to have somebody so special in our lives, someone who was looking out for us. 

Ariana was quiet; she kept to herself until she was around her family and friends, and then you could see that sparkle that was just her. She was outgoing yet private, beautiful but humble, and funny in a way that had the whole room laughing with tears. 

She almost made it. She almost made it to college. She almost made it to 18 and out of high school. She almost had the future she was never promised. Ariana was going to be something. She was going to be the person who held your hand, who helped you survive, not because she had to, but because she wanted to. She wanted you to be okay; she wanted to help people who were going through the same things because she had been there. She deserved more, but she is forever 17 and will forever be remembered by her friends, her family, and the people she has forever impacted just by being herself.

Sweet Journey 17 is a charity established to honor Ariana’s legacy. To make a donation to assist families with meals and accommodations during long pediatric stays, please click here.