Brynn Carnesecca Dead: Utah Beauty Pageant Queen, Miss Congeniality Was 21

“My favorite phrase that we would always use is ‘we do this life together,’ and unfortunately that isn’t the case anymore,” she wrote on Instagram July 27. “We had our futures planned out of becoming aunties, living next to each other and traveling the world. Now, I have to live in a world without you in it.”

Cate also shed light on her sister’s personal struggles that the world may not have known because “her laughter and light could be felt by anyone who got the chance to be with her for even the shortest time.”

“Brynn was the brightest of lights, yet she deeply struggled,” she continued. “For many that came as a shock because she was the most selfless human and would put the needs of anyone else’s above hers.”

She added, “Let Brynn’s story be an example that you never know what someone is going through.”

And now, as Cate moves forward, she wants to walk with her sister in her heart.

“I won’t get to know what growing old with Brynn looks like, but I want to do it in honor of her,” she shared. “She will continue to be my guiding light for my life. Even though I hoped to never do life without her, I will learn what that is like one day at a time.”