I know it's been a while since I've last posted but - life. 

If you've been keeping up with my whereabouts, you'll know that I've started a new project by the name of "Not That U Asked": The Podcast and in my personal life, there's been some new development as well so things have been movin movin, honey. But alas, here we are - letting life inspire me and allowing words to come together to help make sense of the world around me. 

The last few days, if not the last few months of 2020 have caused me to really take a hard look back at the course of my life and face my own mortality. It's been a really reflective look at all the things I've done versus all of the things that I want to do and recognizing the reality that I may not get to do it all. 

Within the year of 2020, I cannot tell you the amount of deaths that I've had to grapple with or make peace with - ranging from those that I knew personally or people that I've simply known of. And while death is ultimately inevitable, it doesn't make the idea of it any easier to swallow - especially when it feels like it's right around the corner at every turn that you make. 

During the month of May, when I came to find my word of the month;  the only word that came to mind was "Legacy" because it felt like all around me, everyone was losing someone to covid and all we could do was focus on the life that they lived and the way that they loved those closest to them. It forced me in a way, to wonder about the mark that I was making in the world and what it would mean when I was gone. "Will it all have been worth it?" and "How will I be remembered?" .... and these days - "How will I be remembered?" seems to linger in every thought.

I recently lost my Chapter sister who although we didn't speak everyday nor were we the closest of friends, the memories that I share with her and of her have kept her on my mind everyday since. In the days after her passing, I've seen pictures, memories and stories being shared regarding all of the ways that she showed up for everyone in her life. The ways in which she loved and the light that she represented for so many people. I, myself got to experience her light and I cannot tell you how sad it makes my heart that she is truly no longer with us.

If any of you have seen the movie Coco, in the story, they present the idea that as long as your loved ones remember you, you'll live forever. The souls that live on the other side live happily in peace being remembered and celebrated by those that they've left behind in the physical world ~ as you'll come to see time and time again as the song "Remember Me" is played throughout the movie. 

Through my Chapter sister's passing, I've seen all of the ways in which she was loved and how she'll always be remembered. She isn't someone you could ever quite forget. I find myself focusing on the ways in which life gives you all of these opportunities to show and tell people how much they mean to you and how often we take these things for granted. It makes me want to say words like "I love you" and "I miss you" more often. It makes me want to throw my pride aside and show up for people even when they fail to show up for me because in the end, I love them no less. It creates the space for celebrating life - the good and the bad, the beautiful and the ugly, the funny and the sad. And it makes me grateful to have known and experienced these souls in the ways that I have. 

We don't know when the last time is going to be the last time, so I urge you all to enjoy the present. Show up for those that you love, life gets in the way but never forget to let people know how much they mean to you. If you are lucky enough to know your purpose in this life, see it through to the best of your ability and live in it. You're supposed to be here. Right here, right now. 

Tomorrow is never promised, all we have is today. Be grateful. 

I'm so grateful that I got to know Marileidy Morel. 

And that she's someone I'll never forget.

What are you grateful for? 

How do you want to be remembered?