To summarize my experience with the incredible Sophie Glaser is a hard thing to do, especially to keep it contained to a singular blog post. So here goes my best attempt at just that!

I first met Sophie at the beginning of freshman year of high school in 2005. She happened to be in a majority of the same classes and rode the bus with my longtime friend, Julia. She and Julia quickly became very close and from there it wasn’t long until Julia added her into our main friend group, making her one of the core members of my high school friends. While Sophie and I hung out often and even took tennis lessons together, truth be told it really wasn’t until our sophomore year when an incident involving a petty fight over a boy, did Sophie and I really became close. To this day, I still have a very sweet handwritten apology from Sophie that resolved our silly fight, and is something I’ll always cherish, life is always such a funny thing to me.

Sophie was a friend I could always talk about spirituality with, and felt like she really understood me in a way that felt unique and special. She frequented an Ashram in upstate New York with her parents that I believe helped shape her views on spirituality, and made for fun talks about the subject and views on life. During junior year of high school, it was discovered that Sophie had a tumor in her brain, which was found after investigating the cause of her ongoing severe migraines. While the tumor was fortunately benign, it still needed to be operated on and removed. This procedure took Sophie out of school for a good chunk of the year along with endure a traumatic experience that made her question her mortality deeply. I don’t think she ever believed she would live a long life truth be told, but this perspective helped her make the most of the one she had. After her surgery she studied abroad in Spain during the summer, followed by another study abroad experience in Nice, France. I was lucky enough to join her on the later experience along with two other girlfriends. We had an absolutely amazing time roaming around the streets of Nice and even making our way over to the incredibly gorgeous Monte Carlo. For that special month together I’ll always be grateful, the adventures and memories made will stay with me forever.

While Sophie and I went in different directions for college we remained very close, texting and calling each other often and getting together when we were both back home in Vermont. She moved to NYC to pursue her love of film and writing, ultimately attending NYU’s Tisch School of Arts. While I started my college experience at a small private school outside of Boston, and then transferring to URI to complete my undergrad degree in Psychology. Being in southern Rhode Island made it easy for me to get over to NYC for visits with her too which was awesome. One of our regular methods of communication was finding a semi quiet room while at a party with a few drinks in the system and calling each other to talk about the start of the night and share lots of giggles. I still have a few saved voicemails on an older cell phone with these extremely silly ramblings, -my sentimental heart has done me well with these saved treasures.

In the fall of 2013, Sophie traveled to Prague after getting accepted into an exclusive film program through NYC. This experience was one she was really looking forward to and a dream experience for her, especially as someone who seemed to have a million creative projects going on at all times and thrived with this energy, she was beyond thrilled to have the opportunity to go to Prague and bring even more of her ideas to life while surrounded by other talented creative people. The timing of my friend Sarah visiting Sophie at the time that she did will always be a curious one for me, but at the very seems to be cosmically arranged. While traveling across Europe post college, Sarah planned to stay with Sophie for a week, and recounts that after a few days into their time together Sophie shared she was experiencing a long lasting migraine. However, with her history of constant migraines they had become a normal experience for her to endure, and this one didn’t really stand out as worrisome or even necessarily out of the ordinary. While this migraine continued Sophie told Sarah she just needed some alone time to lay down and nap, to remedy the situation so that later they could go out into Prague and explore the city together. Not thinking anything of this Sarah obliged and went out wondering on her own to get some food and meander about. Coming back to Sophies Prague apartment and checking on her a bit later, Sarah found she was unable to wake Sophie and that she had tragically passed away in her sleep on November 8th, 2013.

When I was told the news, all I felt was denial, it just didn’t make sense to have someone so young with so many projects, hopes and dreams here one moment and then so suddenly gone. The death of this close friend was unlike any experience I had ever gone through regarding death. Before this moment, I had only experienced the passing of grandparents and beloved family pets, that while sad, didn’t compare to this devastating loss I felt. However, a silver lining to this tragedy was I had moved back to Vermont months earlier and was in close connection with two other dear friends, who were also very very close with Sophie. Allowing us to lean on each other for support during this confusing and challenging time. She also left us a gift behind to remember her in way I hadn’t appreciated or understood when she first shared it with me, this beautiful music video she directed and starred in, which later became the band Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros official music video - the theme coincidently (or not) was on death and rebirth.

After Sophie’s death, I became very close with her parents, finding it both therapeutic and healing to help support them through the hardest moment of their lives. Having just become a Reiki practitioner at the same time of her death oddly enough, I was able to offer this healing energy to both of them in an effort to help them the best I could. I was taught by my Reiki teacher that you can call in a spirit for the person you’re practicing on while over their heart center. While giving a Reiki session to her father in the basement of her childhood home, a space I had many sleepovers with Sophie in, I called to her as I was on his heart center. After doing so I heard something faint, but enough to distract me and turn my head. Thinking it odd but not giving it much further thought, I continued, hearing it again, this time much louder and clearer, a gentle “I’m here.” I could then feel her energy so clear, like she was standing right next to me and then moving through me. Caught off guard by this incredible and other worldly magical occurrence, I decided I wanted to interrupted the Reiki session and share what just happened with her dad, and as I looked down at him about to do just that I saw tears coming down his face. He knew and felt her just as clearly as I had.

This was just the beginning of unique experiences I had with Sophie after her death, I saw red tail hawks everywhere, everywhere! My favorite encounters being the up close kind that I just couldn’t miss if I tried, from a hawk casually sitting in the driveway of my home as I pulled my car up, to being perched on tree branch just outside my bedroom. Sophie was bold in life, never shy and in death she seemed to bring the same unapologetic vivacious energy! From feeling the sensation of a hand gently press down on my shoulder while meditating, -with absolutely nothing behind me but a wall to have caused this distinct feeling, to hearing obscure songs we had both loved while in various public places that just didn’t make any sense to be played. Are just a few examples among many other occurrences I had, all strengthening my faith in life after death more than ever! Since those early experiences after her passing, I’ve continued to feel Sophie strongly in my life ever since. However, it wasn’t until I developed my metaphysical skillset further, did I began to understand the purpose for her presence. She was a guide of mine, helping me as with my spiritual journey. I’ve created an altar for my dear Sophie in order connect with her in a different way, and keep her presence regular in my home. While I miss having her more physically in my life, I am so grateful to still be able to connect with her and share this next phase of life and spirituality together with her.

Thank you for reading, and with so much love,

Megan