Andrew

You always said it would happen. And yet I was still unprepared. It’s strange how when the opportunity to meet with someone so influential, your mind…. Blanks. And then you are stranded with a goofy grin and nothing upstairs. “How’s it going? I’m Andrew.”
And the only thing I could force out was, “…Kelsey.” He shook my trembling hand and I could feel the energy flow from his fingertips. The attempted speech afterwards was barely audible as my brain was telling my mouth to open. He started a conversation about the show and we agreed that it was amazing, adding that we would be at the movie premier the next night as well. His heart seemed heavier than I expected, like he was the happiest man alive yet was holding something back. We all talked about this or that and all the while I couldn’t contain the feeling that I was in the presence of the most genuinely impressive person. After a while of my back-flipping brain trying to capture this moment, we said our goodbyes. And as I asked for a hug, he leaned in and said, “come here, darlin’. Be well.” And that was it. Such simple words. I thanked him for spending time with us, and he thanked us for standing by him through his journey.
It’s sad that we must face defeat in order to appreciate what we have. Knowing this, he is trying to spread the idea that you don’t have to stare death in the face to appreciate life, we just need something to swim for.