“People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” -Maya Angelou
Growing up, I remember walking home from school, getting home, getting a snack and watching part of “Oprah.” During one of her episodes she referenced the above Maya Angelou quote above. This thought and theory on leaving a lasting impact has stayed with me decades after Oprah’s show went off air.
One of the most influential people in my life was only in it for 21 years, my grandmother, Shirley Murphy. You know the kind of person, the type you always feel better after you are in their presence?
A few weeks ago, I wore a beautiful burgundy velvet blazer to work and quickly snapped a selfie in the studio before my 4 p.m. broadcast at my TV station in Providence. I took to Facebook and said, “This blazer has to be at least two decades old…. If not three or four decades old. It was my grandma’s when she was a teacher. I was lucky enough to get this jacket and a few other pieces of her clothing, along with a gorgeous ring I wear almost daily after she passed. She died when I was 21 and I miss her terribly every day...”
From passing down her recipes, to being the peacekeeper and matriarch, she always knew the crossword answers and never told me no. But more than all that, I remember how I felt when I was around her, the lifelong lessons of kindness she taught me that are still relevant all these years later, how to bake the best apple pie from scratch, to win at a game of go-fish and crazy eights along with so many more lessons.
If you died today, what would your legacy be?
Leaving a legacy is more than sweet treats and kind words, it’s more than hugs and passing down jewelry. It’s that gaping hole in your heart that won’t be filled again until you’re reunited in heaven. It’s knowing the trajectory of your life will forever be altered because you made such an impact, one that can have ripple effects on everyone you meet and every member of your family for generations to come.
Looking back, I wish I would have asked my grandma more questions about her life, her time modeling in Chicago, her friends on the cheer team and how it was graduating from the original Creston High School; a building that’s long been torn down and now all that remains are a few commemorative bricks. But at that age, I was so young, I just didn’t know what I didn’t know.
Fellow Crestonians, this life here on earth is so short. Those around you may not remember what you say, but they will remember how they felt when they were in your presence. Don’t take these moments for granted, not a single one of them, no matter how small or insignificant they may seem.
Tiffany Murphy is a 2005 Creston High graduate who works television news in Rhode Island.