“Hope I made you proud, Kins. I miss you.”
***
Kinsey’s funeral lasted three hours. Dozens of people spoke about Kinsey and their special memories of her.
Besides those close to her, Rosemary, Old Paul, Jamie and Courtney, there were others. An old friend from grade school, a college roommate. People that Kinsey probably wouldn’t have recognized or thought would remember her.
There were lots of tears, but lots more laughter as people shared their favorite memories of Kinsey. I hoped to God that Kinsey was here with us, because all her life she had felt ordinary and these testaments proved otherwise.
She was an amazing girl. One that had left dozens and dozens of footprints within a multitude of lives along her path.
Epilogue
The Life of Kinsey
By: Kinsey Masters Daniels, Assistant Editor
Some of the biggest questions in life are: What’s my purpose? What am I doing here? Why do I go through certain events? And finally: Will I be remembered?
I’m young and I’ve always lived my life with no regrets.
Everyone thinks they have so much time in the world. Time to start an education, start a career, fall in love, get married and start a family. The list just goes on and on.
Some people have bucket lists that they imagine they’ll cross off when they’re older.
I, unfortunately, don’t have the luxury of time on my hands. When this article is published, it will mean that
I’ve already passed.
So you’re reading the words of a dead girl – freaky, huh?
Back to my story. The biggest question for me has always been about being remembered, because let’s face it; we all want to feel important. We want to feel like we’ve made a difference – no matter how large or small. It feels futile to write this, but oh well. I won’t be around to read any negative feedback.
The night I was told I was going to die, I had a dream. Four of my exes and my future husband were there. To my surprise, they gave me the idea that my final story needs to be my own.
A story about me? Kinsey Masters Daniels. I’m not a celebrity or a hero. I’ve lived an ordinary life.
However, what I’ve come to discover is that every life matters. You don’t have to be rich and famous to matter.
You came to this Earth for a reason, for a purpose and that, my friends, means you matter.
Every life is important, no matter whom you are. You have touched lives. You have left imprints that will stay with people for the rest of their days.
I won’t bore you with details about my life. That’s not what my story is about or what I feel I should convey as my last message. I want to tell you about legacies. We all will leave them. When I figured out mine, it made my heart happy.
My legacy that I will leave with these five extraordinary men and the rest of my loved ones will be a legacy of loyalty, love, and passion.
The way to earn trust with someone is to be loyal to him or her. Without me even trying to, my loyalty shone brightly and turned me into a trustworthy person. That is perhaps the best compliment to receive, to be considered trustworthy and loyal.
Think about it; what do we associate with liars, criminals, and altogether ‘bad’ people? The ones who backstab without blinking an eye? The ones who gossip and spread malicious rumors or make fun of those less fortunate? The criminals who rob, cheat, and harm others? Would you consider them trustworthy and loyal? No. Neither would I.
Moving on to the next legacy: love. Love is the universal language in the world. No matter your race, religion, ethnicity, you know love. You have felt it at least once, hopefully multiple times, in your life. All my loved ones knew I loved them. They have described my love as almost being an apparent river flowing from me. Yes, it may sound corny, but it makes me smile. I have always believed that if there were more love and less hate in this world, we would all be in a better place.
You can’t just give away your love to people you know.
Give it to everyone! Even strangers, especially strangers, to the person in front of you at the grocery store who is having their card declined, or the older driver in front of you on the highway that is just puttering along. Love these people. Love them with all your heart and show them kindness. I promise people will remember you either way, loving or not, but I’d rather be remembered for being all about love. I will be remembered for being kind to my fellow human beings. For giving people chances and encouragement.
Finally, we come to passion. All my interviewees said that I had a passion for living life to the fullest. If I wanted something, I did it. It is okay to fail; it is okay to change your course in life. As long as you are living, then that is all that matters.
Find a hobby, find a cause you support. Under no circumstances should your life consist of working your 9 to 5 job and that’s it. If you have children, get off your phones and enjoy them while they’re young! Being connected to your computer or phone every day, all day isn’t how it should be. That’s not living people, sorry. Go to church, volunteer at the town’s community center, coach a children’s sports team. Life is full of so many amazing adventures, you just have to choose something and go!
I may not have been on the cover of magazines, nor had my face on a big screen. I may not have been a millionaire or lived in a 52-bedroom house. Those things are so trivial. Those are materialistic. What does matter is that I was a good person. I made mistakes, I was human, but I loved my life.
Do me a favor since you're blessed with one more day than I have been allowed; live your life and love it.
Never stop doing those two things.
Love,
Kinsey
The End
Acknowledgments
As always, thank you to my Heavenly Father. Your love for me is amazing and I will praise You until the end of my days. I am nothing without you.
Josh, Lexi & JJ: You guys rock. Y’all make me want to be a better version of myself on a daily basis. Thank you for letting me spend time on my computer crafting this story. Thank you for being a part of my heart. I love you three with everything I have.
To my very first fans: Mama, Daddy, Jamie and Amy. I thank God for y'all. Jamie, you are my hero. I can’t wait for the day you call me to say you’ve kicked cancer’s a$$!
To Stephanie White of Steph’s Cover Design: I am so truly blessed to be friends and able to work with such a talented artist.
Robyn M. Pierce: for once again being my editing goddess. You are amazing! I wish I had your eyes and brain, because you are a genius.
Kendall McCubbin: You are amazing! The trailer you made for this book was perfect and so is your friendship! I love you!!
To my Beta Readers: I love that y’all wanted to read 'Love, Kinsey'. It still is shocking to think I have people that purposely want to spend a portion of their day reading my words. I love all of you. Thank you so much.
Finally, to all my fans (which is still such a foreign concept). It’s a scary thing to know that the words from my heart are in your hands, but you have all shown such sweet admiration. I love you all. Happy reading!
XOXO
Brandy
Please check out my amazing author friends:
Airicka Phoenix
Alexia Purdy
Cambria Hebert
Cameo Renae
Chelsea Starling
Jamie Gibson
L.P. Dover
Lindy Zart
Magan Vernon
Marissa Adams
Molly McAdams
Nikki Jefford
Rick Veal
Robyn M. Pierce
Shay Ray Stevens
Shelly Crane
Taylor Dean
About the Author
Brandy Jeffus Corona has been writing stories since an early age. She would dictate them to her mom who would type them out on a typewriter.
She is a wife and mother to two precious children and lives in North Texas, but she’ll always
consider herself an East Texan, hailing from the Rose Capitol of the World, Tyler.
You can find her here:
http://brandyjeffuscorona.webs.com/
http://bookwormbrandy.blogspot.com/
Twitter: @bcorona09
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Brandy-Jeffus-Author/574088449272487
Table of Contents
Prologue
Part One:
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Part Two:
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Part Three:
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Epilogue
Table of Contents
Prologue
Part One:
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Part Two:
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Part Three:
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Epilogue
Table of Contents
Prologue
Part One:
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Part Two:
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Part Three:
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Epilogue
Love, Kinsey Page 10