May 2, 2008
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Tonight I went to Jamie’s vigil. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect, seeing as this was the first time I’ve been to one. Never had a friend passed away, so it has been pretty weird all week.
The place was packed when I got in. I knew he had a lot of friends, but it was amazing to see so many people show up and support Jamie.
The event lasted until about 9:15, and I never wanted to leave. I saw some people walk out early; maybe they were too sad or they had work to do (very understandable), but I personally wouldn’t have felt right leaving. The vigil started off kinda sad at first, with speakers reminiscing on all the good things Jamie has brought to everyone. It got more light-hearted in the middle, as some of his closest friends talked about the silly times they’ve had with Jamie. It made the crowd smile and laugh, which felt really good. I think Jamie would have wanted us to be happy anyways.
The mike was later passed around the crowd, and it was cool hearing all the personal stories people had with Jamie. Listening to them made me really wish I could have spent just some extra time hanging out with him while he was at SUS desk, or anywhere else I would find myself bumping into him. They had a picture slideshow later that made me wish I had a chance to have a picture taken with him, possibly during the time when we were Woolies or on the SGA spring formal cruise last year. The slideshow got to a lot of people…I know I felt it.
After the ceremony was over, we lit candles and took a walk around campus. I wonder what people thought when they saw a mile long line of people with candles passing by them haha. If nothing else, it showed how many people Jamie has touched. If I ever get even just 1/8th of the love that I saw tonight, I would die very happy. Truly remarkable.
A part of me still believes that I will see him (like I always do) whenever I walk around or to the spot. It’s a very odd feeling…he’s gone, yet I feel like he’s not. Either way, I’m gonna miss seeing him around. I’ll see you later Jamie.
I’m feeling alright now. For w/e reason, this song has been cheering me up:
Woke up this morning
I suddenly realized
We’re all in this together
I started smiling
Cos you were smiling
And were all in this together
I’m made of atoms
You’re made of atoms
And were all in this together
And long division
Just doesn’t matter
Cos were all in this together*Yawn* tired now. Got my USTA interview tomorrow, my very last tennis club match on Saturday against Maryland, and a ton of school work to write up and study for next week.
