At a previous career we were required to take The Clifton Strengths Assessment. Essentially this assessment, if not familiar with it, is a way to learn what your top personality strengths are and how to incorporate them into your lives. One of my top fives is "Input".

People with the input theme are inquisitive. They're collectors, information, words, facts, books, quotes... They tend to collect tangible objects too, things like butterflies, baseball cards, dolls, photographs... Whatever the input person collects, they collect it because it interests them. They find the world to be exciting, mostly because of it's infinite variety and complexities. Often they acquire the thing, whatever it may be, and store it away without knowing the reason. It's just a feeling, an instinctual feeling that it's valuable. 

Input fits me well. I love collecting things. I have things gifted to me from middle school Secret Santa days, songs and quotes, lots of THINGS. I used to write down Myspace (yep, Myspace) songs when I just felt like the song on their page just really fit the person. 

At one point, Cora's Myspace song was, Ben Lee's Catch My Disease. It wasn't the lyrics that particularly felt like Cora at the time I saved it. It was just the fun melody, the sound and feeling that the song gave, like it was just okay to come as you are, be as you are, and just love. Recently I had been thinking about that song a lot.

One of the lyrics is, "She told me she loved me like fireworks, and that's the way I like it.".  Cora loves Nick like fireworks. They have this celebratory love, one that is deserving of the firework show. I think I collected that song because she still brings that song's energy to people's lives, even more so now with Nick by her side. And now, maybe not all the lyrics, but most definitely that one fits too. They have that firework kind of love. Big, beautiful, bright enough for people to see from miles away and timeless.

Oh, and that middle school Secret Santa gift? A tiny ballerina hippopotamus. From none other than Cora herself. To which I absolutely made sure to wear to their wedding.

All this to say, I've collected so many things that remind me of Cora. Maybe I wasn't aware that's why I was doing it at the time. I've always cherished our friendship, so no matter long goes in-between, I'll always find her interesting and worthy of treasuring. New memories written down and tucked away, song lyrics included (hello, "Great Day To Be Alive"!) for Cora + Nick. You are both individually worth infinite amounts and together even more. ♥