Amanda

 

A year ago, on June 30th, 2011, a bomb was dropped on my friends and I that our dear friend, Amanda Leady, had passed away in a car accident. Most of us fresh out of high school, Amanda had been a year older than most of us and was like the "Mama Bear" of our group of friends, taking each one of us under her wing and making us feel special and beautiful. She was one of those people who pushed you toward your goals, as scary as they seemed at the time, because she truly wanted you to be the best you could be. I wish I could have personally thanked her for that.

Today her parents will be hosting a memorial service at their house in remembrance. It's so strange to think about going to a friends house for their memorial service; not for a sleepover or a bonfire or to stay up until ungodly hours watching stupid movies, but only to remember and long for those times you once shared. It's still unfathomable to me, the whole situation. A year later and I still can't believe it. Someone so beautiful was taken off of this earth, so quickly. How fast everything can change. But also, how people can come together in love and support, and how one life touched so many.

At Amanda's funeral (I don't like that word either), all of us got together and performed this song for her. We had sung it in choir at school a few years earlier, and it seemed to perfectly emulate exactly what was going on at the time. And Amanda's biggest passion was music. She lived and breathed it. Singing, Dancing, and Musical Theatre were her getaway, and she was honestly so talented at all of them. She had the most powerful, but beautiful singing voice, and rhythm came easy to her. It was amazing watching her on stage; everything seemed effortless.

Amanda gives me strength to smile through the tough days. She was so spunky, with the most contagious laugh; you could be whisked out of a bad mood just by looking at her smiling face. Not a day goes by where I don't think about her and the impact she made on me. I will always stride to leave a light behind me here on earth that was half as beautiful and positive as what Amanda left behind.

Stay Beautiful Amanda♥ We love you.