This is my personal birthday tribute to Diana.

I started loving Diana only a little over a year ago, which may not seem very long to those who have loved her for years. But in that short time, I have discovered just how amazing she was.

Can you miss someone that you have never met? In my case, I definitely believe so, and I have many examples to prove it. Diana is one of the strongest examples. It’s a terribly hollow feeling I have from time to time when I’m watching a clip of Diana, or reading about her life, or all her wonderful charity works or what a wonderful mother she was. You don’t understand why things happen to certain people. It feels unfair when you have to think about why these things happen to the most beautiful of human beings.

But we can’t choose these events that occur in life. They have to happen, for reasons we can’t understand yet. Or maybe we never will. But they do. It’s what a person does in their lifetime that counts the most. I have this kind of idea that I don’t want to live in vain. When I have time here, I want to do something. Just something. I think this “something” varies for different people. It might have to do with fate. I know it sounds silly and dumb and stupid, but what other explanation is there?

Diana, in her thirty-six years, was given so many different gifts, primarily compassion. She executed this on a world stage. In doing this, she touched us and taught us a thing or two about love. It just so happened that she would fall in love with the Prince of Wales, and she became an international icon. Even if this had had not happened to her, even if we had never known who “Diana Spencer” was, even if she had not become Princess of Wales – I fully believe she would have still practiced the morals that she is now so famous for. Reading about her childhood ensured me of that. These virtues were something invested in years before she stepped into the public’s limelight. If she hadn’t become Princess of Wales, she would still be Diana, someplace, somewhere, in a role helping the people and being a wonderful mother and having a marvelous time doing so.

But perhaps she wouldn’t have been able to intimately touch as many people as she did. Luckily for us, she did marry Prince Charles and step into our lives and we were all touched by her – and continue to be. However, this also turned out to be quite a bit unfortunate for her. Her years in the public’s eye resulted in cons and pros alike. Was it really the cause of her premature death? The paparazzi’s stalking of her? We can never say for sure.

She was not perfect. She was far from it. She struggled. She made mistakes. She inflicted self harm upon herself. She was bulimic. Fans of Diana are often accused of idolizing her and painting her as a saint. On this tumblr, that’s never what I try to do. Diana is a role model of mine, but it is because she was human. Completely and utterly human. But what makes her special, to me, was her desire to overcome these faults the best she could and give a helping hand to someone who needed it. Give a little love. Hang onto that love.

Today is a happy occasion. It’s a day to smile and remember her legacy, and I hope we can all do a bit of that today.

Happy birthday, Diana.