Jules "The cool sister"
By: John Gardner
Julia's brother
I've been pretty much in a state of shock since my sister passed a little over a week ago now. When I was woken up at 3:30 to go to the hospital by my parents, it felt like a dream, or more like a nightmare, and it feels as though I still haven't really woken up yet. I keep thinking that if I keep going on with my normal routine, I’ll be at home and Julia will come walking through the door like nothing happened. Living at home the past couple weeks was great because of just that. It would be normal routine for Julia to walk in, and we’d just sit there chatting about sports, country music, Seinfeld, or whatever. The conversations were never usually long, but they always left me with a smile. It wasn't anything specific Julia would say or do, but as I'm sure everyone in this room can attest, the passion and energy with which Julia spoke just left everyone with a smile on their faces. And of course, no one was cooler than Julia. No offense Molly or Sarah, but Julia was definitely the cool sister. Not only that, but she made everyone around feel cooler too. I don't really know how to describe it, but she just gave you confidence with the way she talked to you. I could go on and on about all the great qualities Julia had, but that would take hours, and judging by everyone that's here I think you all knew these qualities already.
What I do want to say is that I think that when people talk about someone's legacy, it's often assumed that one has to live a longer life to leave a lasting legacy. However, the amount of people that Julia touched, and the lives that she has changed clearly prove this to be false. Julia has left one of the greatest legacies a person can leave, and that is that she loved whomever she came into contact with. She changed lives with this love and made the world a better place because of it. So although Julia only lived a short 29 years on this earth, her legacy of love is going to live on forever.
I love you, Julia
John