The Seven People You Meet In “Heaven”

A letter of gratitude to the most beautiful people I’ve ever met.

If you’re anything like me, you spend a lot of time reflecting.

You reflect on your highs and lows, the moments when you laughed the hardest, or the times the only witness to your tears was the darkness in your bedroom as the rest of the world slept.

Lately, I’ve found myself thinking about the people I’ve had the privilege of knowing.

Family is given to you. They help teach you the basics of life. You love, you fight, you share, you break, you heal. They are always in your corner.

But what about the ones you choose? And the ones we sometimes… lose?

The small handful you meet and instantly know that they will change our lives forever.

In my life, I’ve been blessed by seven extraordinary souls—

seven humans who have left their fingerprints on the person I’ve become.

The first was a girl I met when I was thirteen.

She had the biggest, happiest eyes I had ever seen and a heart so beautiful it felt like standing in the sun. She was the first person who truly taught me what friendship could be. She taught me what it meant to be seen, to be chosen, and to be loved exactly as you are.

The second was a girl I met in theater class when I was fifteen. Who would’ve thought a random Tuesday in high school would give me the world’s best “BEST FRIENNNDDD”? She became my safe place, my endless laughter, my partner in every ridiculous adventure. Who knows? Maybe someday, we’ll live out our “Golden Girls” life together, sipping coffee under the Miami sun, still laughing like we’re fifteen all over again.

I can’t forget E. My sweet E.

We had known each other since Sunday School, but it was in those slow Sunday evenings that our friendship truly blossomed.
Long front porch talks, rocking side by side in creaking chairs, watching the sun slip behind the pine trees. We spilled our hopes, our dreams, our half-formed philosophies about the world.

She knew my heart like a map you could read blindfolded. And I knew hers just the same.

Next was a boy. He was quirky and confident, with a musical passion and talent unlike anyone I had ever met.

Our time together was brief, a whirlwind of teenage rush, angst, and confusion, but the way he inspired me to be more true to myself is something irreplaceable. He offered a safe place for me to be silly. And awkward. And real. He was the first person who made me feel truly pretty.

And though one church gave me a lot of trauma, it also gave me the gift of one of the most amazing women in the world.

She’s fiery and passionate (and, yes, a bit of a know-it-all), but she saved me. She was the best roommate, chef, and rebellion partner a girl could ask for. From singing Disney songs at 3 AM to climbing out bedroom windows, she was the girl my soul needed.

Our friendship made me feel alive and… powerful.

The universe gifted me another extraordinary soul in my twenties.

I had moved to a new town, stepped into a new relationship, and was trying to find my place in the world.

And there she was! She every bit of the friend I had once dreamed up in my journal. She was funny and sweet. Open-hearted and endlessly loving. We dreamed of getting married side by side and raising our children together. We dreamed of homeschooling them around the kitchen table and bringing them to Mass every Sunday.

But then, as life often does…everything changed. And while she is married to a wonderful man and raising her two young children (with another precious one on the way), I’m grateful for the days we spent strolling through Barnes and Noble after dinner. They are still some of my most cherished memories.

And lastly, The man who holds my heart so firmly yet so tenderly in his hands.

The one whose blue-eyed haze quieted the world around me. The one who took my shattered existence and carried it with reverence.
He gave me the love I longed for and the space I needed to find myself again. He is the definition of love, safety, devotion, encouragement…and everything in between.

To know you all.

To have spent time with each of you, is one of the greatest treasures of my life.

Each of you left a mark on my soul. Each of you helped shape the woman I am today.

One taught me friendship.

The next taught me love.

E. taught me what it means to connect with others on a spiritual level.

From one, I learned authenticity.

From another, I learned how to rebel.

A girl with an open heart taught me vulnerability.

And the last showed me what true commitment looks like.

Thank you for sharing time with me on this crazy, beautiful ride we call life.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the photos in the post.