Yet another young Hollywood star is gone, and we are left with what feels like huge holes in our hearts and childhoods. "Jessie" and "Grown Ups" star Cameron Boyce passed away suddenly in his sleep the week of July 6th.
When something like this happens, it almost feels as though your life has been flipped upside down — really only for a few seconds, maybe hours — but, for some, maybe even days or weeks. For a little while, we are able to feel the great grief that everyone is feeling for him. It's as if while reading all of the headlines that you feel like you knew Cameron.
Yeah, after sitting behind a tv screen watching him for years at the ripe age of 11, it kind of feels like I did. We all fell in love with his character. Seeing his witty self every day when Disney Channel graced us with the couple hours that "Jessie" played after school. It feels like I knew Cameron. We shared so many laughs together. Although there may have been a TV screen between us, it really did feel like he knew he was making all of us out there laugh with his cheeky smile and incredibly ornery character.
So, how could he be gone just like that?
There was no warning, no nothing. But, in this life, it seems as though that's usually how things end. They tend to completely shock us leaving us with a hole in our lives that are now only filled by memories. I'm not saying I knew Cameron, or that I even began to know anything about him, but I do know that even without knowing him he was able to make me laugh. To me, that's something pretty special.
Through all of this, we are also reminded, yet again, this life we live is so very precious. It really is here one day and gone the next. It can be an overwhelming thought to have in your mind, but it is something we always need to remember. We need not be in fear of what's to come because a life filled with fear isn't a well-lived life either, but we can use it to remind us that tomorrow is never promised for anyone. You never really know what your last day on this earth will entail, or even what someone else's last day will look like to you.
So, live life to the fullest now. Don't have any regrets. Tell your loved ones that you love them often, and don't hold any grudges. You never know what the future will hold, but you can do one thing for certain every day. You can live a life you love every day.
This life is the most precious gift you will ever receive, so go out and live.
Go be the reason someone else smiles today.
