It’s hard to lose a friend, but it’s harder when that person was everyone’s friend. Mr. D’Amato was one of the kindest souls to ever grace the halls of BASIS Independent Brooklyn, cheering up students and faculty alike. He cared for all of us and we all cared for him. When he passed away, there was a shift in the school’s feel. The hallways seemed a bit darker. Students were heartbroken and grief-stricken about his passing. It was almost as if the entire world seemed worse.

But we shouldn’t stay like this. We CAN’T stay like this. We must strive to uphold the ideas and energy that Mr. D imprinted upon all of us. Hallways may seem cloaked in shadow and grief, but can be illuminated with the light of Eco Club’s achievements to make our school a green place. The world has lost a bright light in never-ending darkness, but it is up to us if we want to keep the flame alive.

As long as we keep the memories he gave each and every one of us, he is not truly gone. An empowering lecture on Virginia Woolf, acting out a Shakespearean play in class, his DJing during the mixers, his crazy Halloween costumes, chatting with him about a non-school related subject, hell even just saying “hi” to him in the hallway are all memories that matter. They help him live on, even when he may be gone. His spirit resides in all of us, in the books we read, the way we treat others, and how we can each make the world slightly less worse for one another.

Rest easy Brigadier General D’Amato, your cadets have it from here.