Cameron Boyce, to know him was to love him

I’ve been wrestling with my feelings recently, questioning their validity and have been unsure whether or not to share them. After all, I only knew him briefly. I met Cameron a handful of times, but as anyone who knew him can attest, you didn’t need to know him well to be touched by his light.

He was one of a kind, one of those people who radiated joy, genuine goodness, and was always dressed in a smile ready to make you laugh. I first met him at a difficult, transitional period in my life…a couple weeks after my first real, full throttle heartbreak. Karan and he were probably the first people to make me laugh and put a smile on my face in weeks. He didn’t know me, but that didn’t matter, that was just who he was.

He was such a unique soul. At just 20-years-old he already understood what really mattered in life. He loved those close to him fiercely, pursued what he loved, made others feel special, gave back to the world, and encouraged others to do so as well. He was taken from this world much too soon.

As I try to understand life and the very daunting subject of death, the only thing that comes to mind is an article I read about a six-year-old coming to terms with the death of his beloved dog.

His reaction was simple yet profound. “People are born so that they can learn how to live a good life - - like loving everybody all the time and being nice, right? Well, dogs already know how to do that, so they don't have to stay as long.”

I’ve known one other person who passed away at a young age, a friend from high school, Michael, who died shortly after our graduation. He struggled with Leukemia since grade school but maintained his positivity and kindness in the face of a terrifying disease that was slowly draining his life.

While there is no way to really make sense of such tragically young deaths of two beautiful people, it seems as though both Cameron and Michael knew intrinsically how to love. They knew how to spread that love and be kind, so maybe that is why they didn’t stay as long, because they already knew what was really important. They both still left their mark on the world, leaving it a brighter place with a little more kindness, a little more understanding, and lot more love.

In only 20 short years of life Cameron touched the lives of millions of people. He made a difference with his charity work, he spread laughter through his career, and he gave out love freely. My heart breaks for his family, his best friends, and all those whose lives he touched.

Although my time with him may have been brief, just as his time was on this world, I am so grateful I had the honor to know him. His life and heartbreaking death serve as a reminder to try and live a little more like him, with an open heart full of love. His legacy will live on through the Cameron Boyce Foundation and the brightness he brought to this world will never dim.

Cameron's legacy lives on through the foundation his family created in his honor https://thecameronboycefoundation.networkforgood.com/