Hi All !! I am posting this beautiful tribute to Mollie that was written by one of her friends. ***( I have author's Approval AND Approval from the MODS here on WS to post this)****
The Author's words are their personal thoughts and feelings but written with the hopes of sharing the message so that those that didn't know Mollie personally could see her how her friends saw her.
***The world we live in is unjust. There are no certainties other than that it’s unfair. It harbors dark places in which evil lies. It is a cruel place that can break you down moment after moment. It is one of great sorrow. The world we live in is also wonderful. It brings us to people that care about you and you can care about in return. It has hearts full of nothing but joy and kindness. It’s a place that you find support no matter the situation. It is one of much love.
I know Mollie because I had the inexplicably lucky opportunity to work along side her for a day camp in which she devoted her heart to. My journey of friendship with Mollie began specifically on Thursday, June 14th when I was attempting to draw a couple of coworkers (not very well I might add) and she sat beside me and initiated a conversation of what details I had lacked in adding or what was spot on. Needless to say the drawings amounted to little more than hilariously drawn people that were supposed to be coworkers. More importantly, something else had happened. A spark of new friendship with someone I’d never met before had begun.
The next day I wanted to make an impression on my newfound friend so I bought her a McDonalds caramel frappe because she had made a comment the day before that she would “looooove it” if someone went and got her coffee. This act surprised her as a kid who she just met had bought her this as essentially a sign of wanting a friendship.
The next few weeks continued and I began to connect with her through our love of theatre and avid enjoyment of running. Her involvement and care for the kids at the day camp was heartfelt and compassionate. I hoped one day I’d be able to connect to the kids as well as she had.
My next big bonding moment with Mollie came when I was casually singing Whitney Houston to myself and she heard me and began to sign along as well. I remember vividly walking into work one morning after a fairly difficult swim practice, not ready for the day whatsoever, and as soon as I opened the door she shouted from down the hall “DON’T YOU WANNA DANCE, SAY YOU WANNA DANCE!” to which I appropriately replied with the response of “DANCE! WITH ME BOY!”. This became a common ritual as we both loved the song and we loved the way the children looked at us like we were weirdos.
All of us at the day camp are comedic legends in my eyes. A common phrase that was used between us was “She is beauty. She is grace. She is Miss United States” This phrase never made sense whenever it was used but we all loved it. One time, a photo was posted on our group chat and someone began the saying with “She is beauty. She is grace” to which I immediately chimed in “Mollie is shorter than cinco seis”. I found this immensely funny and laughed for days at my own clever wittiness. Mollie’s height was a thing that always got pointed out, usually by myself, and it became a running gag of how I could point it out each day. We’re both very huggy people and our heights complimented each other.
On the last day I saw Mollie, Wednesday, July 18th, she brought me a caramel frappe. She was so excited. She was like “HEY! I finally bought you one!”
Thursday, July 19th had a rainy morning. Swim practice got canceled and I went out to breakfast with my cousin and I remember thinking it was odd that I hadn’t received one of Mollie’s usual morning “Fact of the day” snapchats yet. The day went on and she never showed up and our concern level had gotten high. Mollie was announced a missing person and thus began the longest month. I remember that weekend I did not want to go back to the day camp because all I had were memories of her there and the pain of not seeing her would be to great. We did go back and we pushed through together. I realized that I didn’t want to be anywhere but the day camp because when there, I was surrounded by warm and happy memories of you. A new sense of hope was in our hearts and we weren’t giving up on you no matter what.
Eventually one week became two. Two became three and so on, until we reached today. Today, Tuesday, August 21st, I woke up to the most utterly gut wrenching news I could imagine. Mollie was gone. I received an absolute massive amounts of messages about condolence and sympathies. I didn’t open them because I knew once I read those messages and responded to my friends, it would all become real for me. I felt as if the air we’d all had to hold our breath all of this time had just been sucked out, leaving nothing but pain. I didn’t know what to do as no details had yet been released, so I did the one thing I could. I went to McDonald’s, bought a caramel Frappe, went to the location of the day camp where we worked, and listened to the silence as I let every memory come likes waves in the ocean. I went through the motions of the rest of the day until I went and stargazed. There, I felt close to your soul.
As I draw closer to the end of this writing I want to talk about Wonder Woman, more specifically a quote from it. In the Film’s climactic end battle, Wonder Woman is faced with the reality that evil things in the world are not, in fact, as a result of an evil force that, once defeated, will cause all evil in the world to go away. She realizes that a choice between doing good and evil resides in each and every one of us and it’s how we make that choice of choosing that determines how our world continues. Mollie saw the good in everyone and encouraged them to be the best possible “them” they could. With that, I believe it’s up to us to choose to do good and see the good in people as Mollie did.
I’ll be honest, I wish I could keep writing this forever because I know once I stop, I’ll have to continue in a world that doesn’t get to make more memories with you. A friendship like the one I experienced with you is something I never expected to have or know I needed. This pain will never disappear, but I know it too will get better and life will continue. I’ll think of you often as you’ve shaped the way I view the world in my eyes. To quote the Golden Girls, “It’s been an experience that I’ll hold very close to my heart, and these are memories that I’ll wrap myself in when the world gets cold and I forget that there are people who are warm and kind.”
I love you Mollie