Just a few more memories

Dear Sky,

I went to your memorial this weekend, and quite frankly, I miss you a lot. Even though I'm now in New York and wouldn't be passing you in the hallway or sharing a beer with you on Fridays like we did at Caltech, there's this void in my life knowing that you're not here anymore. I'm sure your off on another great adventure, but this time you're not coming back to share your stories with us, and that's hard.

 

Right now, I'm regretting that I didn't tell you how much of an influence you had on my life. I had some really tough dark times at Caltech dealing with my own undiagnosed depression and you were one of those people who always cheered me up and could make me smile and get me to laugh, and that was a rare thing for me. You had such an amazing ebullient personality that was incredibly contagious and it provided some brightness in my life and some good cheer. Thanks for making it impossible to be unhappy and always brightening my day.

 

Field trips were always fun with you. You always made me remember how amazing nature was and just how awesome it was for all of us to be outside learning about the Earth. A lot of the wonder and awe of nature often gets obscured by the technicalities and rigor of science, and you had the ability to put things in perspective and make me remember and appreciate the beauty and magnificence of the world around me.

 

I'm not sure you knew this, but you were the person I had my first beer with. In fact, you were the first person I got drunk with. You probably would have wanted to know that, and I could not have asked for a better person to share my first drinking experiences. I remember spending a long time that night just looking at the stars in the sky and drinking that beer with you. You might not remember that night on the Ge 106 field trip, but I sure do, and it was those small
gestures like sharing a beer and looking for shooting stars that meant so much to me. I'm sure you thought nothing of those types of things, because that's just who you were and how you treated everyone, but I hope you know how much those small things meant to people (particularly me) and just how much they could brighten up someone's day.

 

One of the other things I will never forget about you is how you challenged me to grow and move beyond my comfort zone. I regret now that I never took you up on your offer to smoke pot with me, because I knew then and I know now that you were trying to get me to push my limits and try something new. I was nervous and scared to do something so outrageous and not typical of me at all so I never took you up on your offer. Next time someone invites me to do something a little crazy and rebellious I'll try to remember to do it in honor of you.

 

Anyway, I hope you're having a blast and enjoying yourself wherever your travels have taken you. I definitely miss you, and I hope you know that I've grown a lot and am better person because of you.

 

Take care,

Meghan (Crowley)