Carrie Fisher: One Year Later

One year ago today, Carrie Fisher passed away. She had been in the ICU for four days after suffering cardiac arrest on a flight home from Europe.
I remember getting the news vividly. I had been hoping and praying for her to get better. People have heart attacks all the time and survive, I'd reasoned. I had been lying in bed relaxing when my friend Adam sent me the devastating text. She's gone, dear.
No! my mind screamed! I hurriedly did a Google search and saw it there in black and white. Star Wars actress Carrie Fisher passes away after 4 day struggle to survive in ICU. 
I literally felt my heart break in two as my eyes blurred with an ocean of tears.

After I'd had a good cry, I spent the day and night reading Carrie's debut novel Postcards From the Edge​.
I'm not normally the type of person to get emotional when a celebrity passes away, in fact, besides Carrie, the only other celebrity passing that upset me was Elisabeth Sladen, and I didn't even learn of her passing until months later.
The truth is is that Carrie Fisher was my hero. She was everything I'd like to be in life: kind, funny, witty, brave, strong. Carrie was a survivor in every sense of the word, and she fought every battle bravely and humourously.
They say that laughter is the best medicine, and Carrie proved the addage to be right. No matter how dark her life got, she found the light and humor in every trial.
As someone with bipolar disorder, it was so inspiring to hear Carrie's struggle with the mental illness, and see how she fought her damnedest to conquer it. She had relapses, sure, but she never stopped fighting.
Seeing The Last Jedi was an emotional rollercoaster for me, knowing that it was Carrie's final Star Wars movie. It was so heartwarming and surreal, though, to see her on the big screen again. It was almost like she was still here among us.
​The truth of the matter is, Carrie isn't really gone. Yes, her physical presence is gone, but she's not forgotten. She will live on through her movies, books, and plays. Carrie -- and Leia -- will live on forever. I see her in the smallest things: a random fleck of glitter on my coat (Carrie loved glitter), a sardonic comment that springs to my mind at the perfect time, a sudden onset of braveness when facing a new, terrifying challenge, and everytime I laugh. No one is truly gone if they are kept alive in your heart.
Carrie, thank you for everything. You have made me who I am today. I hope you're proud to know that you inspired others, and that you're at peace. I love you.