Dear Ms. Cory...
Ms. Cory reached out over summer asking if I could paint something for her Performing Dance Group Fall Concert. Without hesitation, I replied yes. A couple weeks later, she emailed me back, noting that she would be arriving back on campus following a break, and we planned to meet at the start of September. Half-way through September, she still wasn't on campus. Worried, I emailed her again, asking about her presence. I'm excited to see you soon! I never got a reply.
When I learned of Ms. Cory's passing, I didn't want to believe it. I thought, but we never had that conversation about creating art! I realized it was far more than a conversation on art...it was the reality that I had lost any chance of communicating with her about anything. I felt only regret. How stupid was I, to send her an email sharing my excitement for her to come back? How could I just assume she would be there, with her bright smile, cheering for me as I swung open the dance studio door?
I had no words. I only had tears, and I only had art. Upon connecting with the Performing Dance Group, I reopened the possibility of creating an art piece for their Fall Concert. Their theme was Vitality. I could only think of Ms. Cory's vitality. I envisioned her joyful silhouette, the way she heard music like nobody else, the way she saw color in movement. Shuffling through old dance pamphlets, I graced the legacy Ms. Cory left for my school. I sifted through the titles of dances she had choreographed years before I was born.
Ms. Cory showed each of us what it meant to dedicate vitality for a passion. And she taught us how to love one another through that journey. This place will not be the same without her...which is not the appropriate thing to say, as she had already transformed this space the moment she arrived with her ambitious visions. This place will always remember her. Ms. Cory, thank you for everything.
