By: Cate Kearby
Sara Phillips is a senior marketing major at Georgia Southern University. When she was 5 and 10 years old she lost both of her parents to tragic accidents. Day-to-day she navigates her grief journey remembering them.
As she makes her bed, her baby blanket remains in the background. This blanket was given to her at birth by her mother.
The paintings on her wall represent both of her birth parents flowers. Waking up everyday, she is reminded of them.
Sara wearing her fathers shirt, allows me to view her locket. This locket contains photos of her mother and father so she brings them with her wherever she may go.
As the day goes on, she is searching through her mother's recipe book. Her mother's cooking mitts rest closely near by.
She flips through the book reminicising her mother's recipes she used to make for her.
Another image of her mother's recipe gives more detail as to how much she loved to cook. Sara finds joy in cooking as a characteristic passed down to her.
As she sorts through the book, she smiles with happiness. She finally decides on a recipe to make for that night from her mother's book.
Sara's tattoo on her left wrist represents a message that her father wrote her before he passed. She is reminded of him every time she looks at her wrist.
Sara's ring stack is also filled with representations of them. The two silver bands are her mother and father's birthstones, while the middle gold band represents her own birthstone.
Sara's other ankle tattoo is a note left for her from her mother stating "I Love You." This is another way to help her navigate her grief journey throughout college.
Sara sorts through more memories from her parents as she stumbles upon cards written from them.
The card that Sara found was from her father to her mother. She enjoys reading her father's words as they mean so much to her.
Another card she found was from her roommates on the anniversary from her mother's passing. She keeps these letters to remember the love she is surrounded by during her grief path.
Sara's roommates dog watches closely as she sorts through memories that help her grieve.
As Sara goes through her clothes, more memories arise. The shirts that were once her fathers are now hers.
All of the hats in her basket, she wears in her mom's honor. All of her keepsakes make her feel closer to her parents when the days get hard.
The frame on her dresser was passed down to her from her mother and father. This is a constant reminder that her grief might not be final, but there are ways to cope.
The left flower represents her mother's birth flower and the right represents her fathers birth flower.
Sara continues to find memories that fill her with happiness daily. Her grief journey may not disappear, but it helps with her keepsakes to remind her of them.
