The Legacy Project: Olivia Jackiewicz
When I asked Olivia how she’d like to be remembered, she told me succinctly, “As someone who is passionate about life.” Well, she is, and it shows! So now that that’s out of the way let me indulge you with a fun lil’ story.
Liv’s passion for life manifests itself in her insatiable desire for adventure. I think that’s why I’ve enjoyed traveling with her so much—whether to Mexico or Spain, Spokane or Santa Barbara… And soon to be Las Vegas.
As I thought of a favorite memory with her, I kept landing on our camping trip in Santa Barbara a few summers ago. I think everyone on the trip would tell you the sunset we saw on our second night there was the most beautiful sunset of their lives—it’s still seared in my mind, that’s for sure. Well, of course the sunset in itself isn’t a memory, but we had a very special group there to witness it. I’m so grateful I got to experience it with Liv in particular because her passion for life endows her an acute understanding of the beauty of life’s small treasures**** like few other people I’ve ever met.
I don’t know the inner workings of Liv’s unceasing push for novelty in life. What I do know is that thanks to (among other things) her ability to live with the perpetual half-full glass, she conveys joy without trying. With Liv, even the most minute, mundane activities can be fun because she can find an added wrinkle to them that keeps those around her guessing. That to me, is passion. It’s almost as though she’s unbothered, perhaps challenged, by the idea that something can be boring… As if to say, “bored?! You’re just not trying hard enough!” So it seems, anyway. Well, here’s to more adventuring and traveling and joy seeking! See ya in Vega$$$$$$$ Liv!
****Author’s note: These small treasures do not include an occasion in which this author may or may not have dropped a stray foul ball at a baseball game.
