I've never thought much about it. I mean, I'm 18! I've got the whole world ahead of me! I'm invincible! But earlier today I was thinking about what others must think of me, and how I want to be remembered. So I've decided to write my own obituary as if I died today. This is by no means a cry for help or a suicide note!! It's just a way for me to really think out HOW I want to be remembered so I can assess what I need to change.
Shalyn Mae Holloway
6/12/95 - 9/9/13
Shalyn Holloway of Aurora died on Monday, September 9th, 2013 at the age of 18 years, 2 months, and 27 days.Shalyn was born to Sheila (Moore) and Troy Holloway in Aurora, Nebraska on June 12, 1995 at 3:33 am, the first of many late nights for her. She attended Aurora Public Schools from kindergarten until her senior year when she graduated with the class of 2013 on May 12th. That fall, she began schooling at Peru State College with plans to major in Museum Sciences.
Shalyn did everything with all she had. If she loved you, she loved all of you most of the time. If she cared about something, she cared with utmost passion. If she laughed, she laughed with her whole heart until tears ran down her face and she began to sound like a whining guinea pig. And when she was mad, she burned the Earth with a passionate rage. She would drop everything to help her friends, and she often did. She sacrificed sleep and sanity, but it was what she loved to do.
Shalyn loved to learn. She'd spend hours sitting quietly with a book and her tea. She watched YouTube videos, memorized random trivia, read obscure articles, anything to learn some quirky fact.
Shalyn was a member of many online communities. She was a Nerdfighter, aiming to decrease the amount of bad in the world, and a fangirl, loving Dr. Who, Sherlock, Supernatural, Warehouse 13, Night Vale Radio, and Star Trek: The Next Generation. She would be incredibly disappointed to have died before she could get caught up on Dr. Who or to have seen Season 3 of Sherlock, if it ever comes.
Shalyn was greeted in death by her grandpa, Bob Holloway, and many, many ancestors. She is surely dying to hear all the stories she was never told of and by them. She will also be lovingly greeted by former family pets including, but not limited to Pete, Bruno, Shy, Max, Snoodles, Mrs. Cat, Tiger, Tiger, Samuel, Scrappy, Midnight, Smokey, Dorothy, Billie Bob, and Bubbles the Nerdfighting Hamster.
She leaves behind her grandma, Karen Holloway, father, Troy Holloway, mother, Sheila Gramm, sister, Risa Holloway, half-brother, Danial Jameson II, sister-in-law, Melanie Jameson, nieces, Claudia, Hailey, Carol-Ann, and Nichole, along with countless cousins, aunts, and uncles.
She also leaves behind her best friends, Jacob Bish, Megan Sharp (and family), the guys at the museum, and Nichole Iverson.
She would want her memory to live on by everyone focusing on not being a dick, and trying to make the world a better place. This can be done by recycling, volunteering, and donating to small museums.
She once said, "The message I'm trying to send . . . is, be a good friend. Help your friends."
Services will be Saturday September 14th at the First Christian Church in Aurora at 11:30 (am. We had to clarify for anyone who knew her love of night), followed by internment at the Aurora cemetery where she will be buried next to her beloved grandfather. A luncheon will follow. Everything will probably be late and dysfunctional as a testament to her lose relationship with time and organization.
Please allow any and all feelings to consume you as a way of remembering her. And remember: Don't Forget To Be Awesome.
I understand that that would never be published because it is long and inappropriate, but that would be great. I might have to write another one saying more about my life and less about my person, but I don't think anyone would really care about either. I think what made me most emotional when writing this was the 'she leaves behind' section. There are so many people I'd want to include! I've been so close to so many people in my short life, and it breaks my heart that I can't list them all. There have been best friends, mentors, church leaders, step-parents, boyfriends, girl friends, internet friends, people I was in various clubs and activities with, just too many to count or list. I know many of these people wouldn't ever know if I died. For all I know, they could be dead themselves. It's gut-wrenching to think that these people, who I have cared very deeply about at one point or another, and I have nothing to do with each other anymore. It makes you think about the fact that I might not have even met the most important in my life yet. Though I'm pretty sure I'll still be talking to Jacob and Megan and maybe even Nichole in 10-15 years. But who knows?
The only thing I'd hate about dying right now is that there would be people all over campus talking about it who never even talked to me. Surely there'd be some sort of 'remembrance' ceremony or something stupid like that, where all these people that don't know a thing about me would be at. My Facebook wall would be coated by people that never cared, talking about how much they'll miss me. The people I was actually friends with might post silly inside jokes, but more than likely they wouldn't say anything. I think that's how you can tell who your true friends are. When I die, will you publicly express your mourning, or will you quietly go on with your life? I'm pretty sure my best friends would be quietly walking around, attempting to go on with their lives, getting mad at the people pretending to miss me. My best friends will probably sit around by themselves a lot, probably talking to me. And I'll be right there. And hopefully they'll know that.
Shit. This is so much more emotional than I planned on. I'm just sitting here picturing how I would react if my best friend died. Honestly, I'd drop out of college for the semester. There is no way I could go to class after that. I don't know if I'd be able to go more than an hour without being struck down by gut wrenching sadness.
Oh God. Just the thought is awful.
But how lucky am I to have something that would hurt so much to lose?
