vanessa's song.

for the last couple years my mom's side of the family has put together a family recital. many of the aunts and cousins get together each week and learn dances to perform and many of the teenagers perform musical numbers. in the last year and a half  two young family members passed away in car accidents. this year they decided to pay tribute to both of them. i was given the opportunity to perform a dance in memory of my cousin vanessa, which you can read more about here, here, and here. this is the dance my aunt and cousin choreographed. vanessa's older brother also rewrote and recorded the words to josh groban's "february song." the song was also played at her funeral in september.

i certainly don't claim to be a great dancer, but as the four of us cousins walked off stage, crying, it felt worth it. like she was there to comfort us during this time of life. it was a great chance to honor her life and memory with my cousins and family members.

*the woman in black represents vanessa's mother and the girl in white represents vanessa.*