The Chicago Cousins

For those of you who are unaware, I am Nick Savaglio, and I am Kaitlyn’s second cousin (or as the New Yorkers refer to us as “The Chicago Cousins”). As I sit here to write this, I am at a loss for words because Kaitlyn has impacted my life in so many ways and for me, it is hard to put into words how much she meant to me. Referring to Kaitlyn as my second cousin sounds silly to me because she was so much more than that, I looked up to Kaitlyn like the older sister I never had. We had shared so many experiences before her passing, but it was not until after that I came to realize how much of an impact on my life she would have.

As everyone knows, Kaitlyn passed away in August of 2014 and at the time I was 18 years old starting my freshman year of college. I was at that age where I did not fully understand how to process losing someone, I was so close to and looked up to. However, throughout the next few years a lot of my decision making came with Kaitlyn and mind and how she would approach certain situations.

There are so many memories that I can remember with Kaitlyn from ding-dong-ditching in the neighborhood to the late night black Friday shopping, but any time we were together we were always laughing and having fun, that’s what I remember the most. My favorite memory isn’t really a memory but a yearly tradition of spending each Thanksgiving together. Every year I would look forward to seeing Kaitlyn and Carly coming to Chicago for a full week and enjoying the company of one another. Now that the cousins are a little bit older and close to starting families on their own, we hope to continue the tradition as we know Kaitlyn would have wanted.

I could sit here and type for hours about all the different stories and how much Kaitlyn meant to me but there isn’t a day that goes by where I don’t think about her. I know that she is looking over us and we will continue to make her proud.

Keep Smiling Beautiful,

Nick