Rebecca Evene O'Mara was one of my best friends for nearly 10 years. Becks as she was affectionately referred to, was a wonderful person and I consider myself so lucky to have known her. She had this glow about her that stayed with those of us who knew her. She was beautiful from the inside out, she had the most wonderful soul, and a personality that lit up even the darkest of rooms. She was one of those people that have an innate goodness about them, she was the most inspiring person I have ever met. She loved to laugh and her smile was contagious. She was always there when you needed a friend without question. She made it her mission in life to make sure that her friends were happy and her happiness radiated through her.
She and her boyfriend left us much too soon on May 01, 2010 in an alcohol related crash. I wish I could say that it wasn’t their fault, but that wouldn’t be truthful. They were the cause and that’s something that has brought everyone who knew them a lot more grief on top of just losing them. I’ve looked for ways to honor her in all of this, but the truth is that it’s hard to honor her and the fact that she was taken when life was just really starting to begin, under the circumstances of which she was taken. I’ve found that people are too quick to say something cruel and hateful when they find out that she was the cause instead of realizing that we are still grieving the loss of a friend and family member. Grieving the loss of someone who meant the world to us.
It’s been a year since she left this earth and I’ll admit that it’s still hard to believe. I still miss and think of her daily and the one thing I will always truly regret is that I cannot tell her in person how much she and the friendship that we shared meant to me. Even though I realize that she is in a better place, my heart hurts knowing that she’s not here anymore, there are still days when I wake up and wish as hard as I can that we were back in high school complaining about classes and wishing that we were in college or at the next big party. I wish that we were talking about prom and our weddings and how great our lives would be in the future and how we wished we could just snap our fingers and be at graduation right then. The world hasn’t stopped spinning just because she’s not with us anymore and I haven’t stopped living because I have lost my friend, but I still have periods where I grieve for her. I still have moments where I don’t know what to feel and days that I still plead with the Lord to bring her back to us for even just a moment so that I can memorize her laugh and her smile. I wish more than anything that I could go back and appreciate the time I had with her a little more. I feel so angry and so sad. I can't say enough how much I miss her. I don't have the words. Nothing I can say will ever be enough. I can't wait until the day I can hug her again.
That said, the best way that I’ve found to honor her memory is to never let her be forgotten. To never stop talking about her and more importantly to educate people on the senseless tragedies caused from driving under the influence. To share her story and to let people know that there are always better options out there than getting behind a wheel intoxicated. Call a friend or a cab and know that there are often free cab rides available on holidays such as St.Patrick's Day and New Years Eve. Researching it will take five minutes of your time but it might just save your life in the end and believe me when I tell you there are a lot of people that would miss you if you were gone. Together through small acts like these we can prevent more tragedies like this one from occurring!
If you would like to donate to MADD in Becky’s name you may do so here.
