Why not make every moment fantastic?

It’s been months since I have posted anything on this blog. I suppose I haven’t been really inspired to write about anything worthwhile. I took a short break from social media, which led me to question the purpose for even having a blog…have I been putting too much of myself out there? I love to write, that’s why I started this. Has my writing become too deep? Am I giving myself away too freely? 

Three weeks ago, a dear friend of mine passed away. I have never known anyone quite like Cecilia McGinty. She was a jolly old soul that changed the lives of everyone she loved. I must say, though her life on this world was short, she is one of the great few that actually lived life to the fullest. She had a gift…she just got it. Cecilia understood the depth of life and saw the world as it was meant to be seen. As I think of her, one words comes in mind: PASSION. Her profound love for life made her passionate about everything in her existence. I thank God for bringing Cecilia into my life because she was one of the first people that actually understood the way I saw the world. Throughout the years, I have met many people that do not understand how or why I feel so much. Some view me as too deep and emotional...it scares them and they run away. It was never like that with CC. Meeting her was life changing because she felt just as much as I felt, maybe even more, and she taught me to embrace it. Life is meant to be lived. She taught me that when you feel something you need to go for it and not run away.

I was looking at this blog the other day and my mind drifted towards Cecilia. What would she think? Yes, I do put a lot of myself in these writings, but isn’t that what life is about? Why should I hide who I really am for the sake of perception? These words are my reality and this is who I am. I have learned you can try and runaway, but there is no escaping yourself.

As I was thinking about Cecilia, I thought about how honest and open she was. She didn’t let the opinions of others affect how she lived her life. We all are unique in our own way, that’s what makes us special. It is our differences from others that make us who we are. CC taught me how to embrace the quirky things about myself and if people don’t like it, in typical CC terms, well they can “SUCK IT!!”  She didn’t judge others because she didn’t want to be judged herself. She respected other and received respect in return.Life is pretty simple when you look at it through the eyes of Cecilia…treat others and you want to be treated. Give love and you’ll get love. 

Next to our obsession with music, it was our fascination with fate, hope and love that bonded our souls together. Hands down, Cecilia has always been my favorite person to talk to about life. In high school and college we would stay up until the wee hours of the morning chatting on AIM about the mystery of life, why things happen and why certain people come into your life at a certain time. We used to analyze songs and find amazing music with equally amazing lyrics. We had a list of natural highs (see the photo below) about what makes us happy. You know, the simple things that make you feel alive…getting butterflies, unexpected phone calls, listening to the rain, looking at the stars, living on hope. I never really understood the importance of hope until I met CC. She never gave up hope. More importantly, she never gave up on life.

This past spring CC and I were on G-Chat having one of our conversations about life and she told me something that sparked a fading ember inside of me. I wrote it down that moment, made a sticky note on my computer screen and have read it every day since. As I leave you with her words, take time to really think about them. Let her words of wisdom resonate in your soul and your heart be filled with hope.

"Life is the here and now…it’s learning from the past, living in the moment and praying you wake up to see the next day. The amount of time each of us have is limited. We only have a finite number of hours on this earth, so why not make every moment fantastic?" 

-Cecilia Marie McGinty

CC understood the awesomeness of getting actual letters in the mail. And even better, when you get them unexpectedly! She sent this to me back in college and it makes me smile. It sums up the different aspects of her personalty: absolutely hilarious, sentimental, eccentric, creative and caring.  

“I held her close for only a short time, but after she was gone, I'd see her smile on the face of a perfect stranger and I knew she would be there with me all the rest of my days.”  -Brian Andreas