I still don’t think I have all the words I need to express how much I miss and cared about Giacomo. I’ve been trying to put my feelings into music as well, but even that is tough. I don’t exactly know how I feel at the moment because I’ve never experienced this before.
The only thing I’d wish for right now is to have him here so he could see how many people love and care about him. I wish he could be with his family and friends again. I wish we all could’ve said goodbye. I wish we could say hello again. I wish none of us had to go through this pain. I wish he could’ve continued his life because that’s what he deserved. I believe he would’ve had an amazing future ahead of him.
He had such a happy and positive spirit. He was intelligent, kind, thoughtful, supportive, caring, inclusive, talented, trustworthy, generous, and so much more. Giacomo was always there for me and I appreciated that about him. He knew how to make everyone smile and laugh better than anybody else could. I feel so honored that I was lucky enough to have been his friend. I’m thankful that I have so many memories that I will cherish for the rest of my life.
One of my favorite memories with him is when we went to the Magnolia pool. Afterwards, I got to drive in the car with his adorable dog. Augie sat on my lap while his head faced Giacomo. It made both of us laugh a lot! Another great memory is when the school musical ended. I think we were one of the only kids left at the party when the adults started karaoke. It was so fun because his mom sang a song with a few of the other adults. He looked very embarrassed 😉 .
Even simple memories like these are so nice to remember. I thought it was so funny when he used to randomly start rapping songs I didn’t know, tell me to feel how soft his hair was after he got haircuts (it was VERY soft), and jokingly bump into me in the halls during passing periods. One time before the school musical auditions, Giacomo and Ms. Torcaso came to our house. He said for his audition, he was going to sing a song from Moana. Of course, we all pleaded him to sing it for us. He did. It was lovely. I recall he even had to sing, “I wish I could be the perfect daughter.” which made us all laugh. I bet he was the perfect son. The last memory I’d like to share is when I went to his house and we watched shows, chased Augie around the dining room, and jumped on his trampoline. He showed me many of his impressive tricks.
I have many more big and small memories with him, but those are the ones that remind me of some of his best qualities.
I think the worst thing for me right now is that I’ll never get to see him again. But whenever I think that, I just remind myself that even though it was a short life, I think it was a really great one.
I love looking back at the pictures and short videos I have of him. I wish I had many more. But even if he’s not next to me, I’m definitely looking forward to seeing him in my dreams. 🙂
– Zoe Papadakis
