Mere042

I don't often post anything very personal online, I am including this because I want people to know about the person I am writing about.

Didn't take a picture today. I went to a memorial service for a woman who very well may have saved my life during the first half of my senior year of high school. That was the most difficult time of my life and when everyone that I loved and trusted had either betrayed my trust or just abandoned me, the high school crisis counselor was there, taking care of me. Her name was Jinx Lacey and everybody who knew her would tell you she was crazy, but really I think she had it together better than anybody I've ever known. I was so sad to hear of her passing last week and I was so grateful to be able to attend her memorial tonight. She was funny, loving, free of judgment, and a steady presence for the thousands of lives in turmoil that she touched. I will never be able to fully express my gratitude for people like her, and I hope that everyone whose life she touched will honor her existence by striving to live by her example. She had unlimited talent and could have chosen to do anything with her life, but she chose to work in public schools. She chose high schoolers. She chose all of us. She was an amazing, amazing woman and I am grateful beyond measure for having known her. One of the most significant things I ever heard her say came during a press conference at school just after a classmate was killed in a car accident in front of the building, and I hadn't heard it again until McNeil's principal said it again tonight. I hope these words mean as much to you as they do to me:

"When you share joy, you double it. When you share grief, you cut it in half." - Jinx Lacey