On Dec. 4, we lost a dear friend and classmate, senior Cristian Almanzar, who died unexpectedly after playing basketball outside of Terryville Elementary School in Port Jefferson Station.

"He was playing basketball and he said he wasn't feeling good, so [his friends] said just to sit out. When they all turned around, he was lying on the ground having a seizure. They all called 911, but when [the ambulance] got there he had already died," says Brittany Donnell, a junior at Comsewogue High School.

Dec. 5 was not an easy day for anyone in school. The news was hard for everybody in Comsewogue to handle—he was only 18 years old. Cristian's friends, teachers, classmates and acquaintances were in shock. the halls were filled with people crying, and classrooms were eerily silent. Losing somebody who was loved so much and known by almost everyone was difficult, and a lot of people just could not believe that it was true. The school administration hung a banner in the cafeteria for everybody to sign. By the end of the day, there was not one spot on the paper that was not covered in words, pictures or memories of him.

Cristian had such a great personality, and I never saw him get angry. He was outgoing, always smiling, laughing or goofing around about something. Seeing Cristian's smile or listening to one of his stupid jokes could make anyone laugh. Cristian was a good friend and could help out with any type of problem. He was such a great person to talk to because of his laidback personality. All around, he was just an amazing person.

"The night of his 18th birthday was definitely a good memory," says Amy Pandolfo, a Comsewogue junior who was a good friend of Cristian. "I bought him so many balloons. He was just so excited and smiling for pretty much a straight 24 hours. In the car on the way home [from getting ice cream] Cristian wanted to pay for it, but I didn't let him, so he dripped the ice cream down my entire leg. Life is such a beautiful thing…. Things like this shouldn't happen. It's weird without him, and I still can't believe it."

So many people have had their hearts touched by Cristian. Whether you were best friends with him or just said "hi" to him once, you knew he was a funny kid, and we are all lucky to have known him. Cristian will be missed greatly, but he is always in our hearts, and we will never forget his famous smile.