Hannah Lieberman

It was a cool crisp fall day and Jessy and I were walking from our apartment on 107th street to our yoga class. This was my favorite day of the week usually. It always meant I got to spend time with her, even if we were just peacefully stretching and focusing on our breathing. My yoga mat was falling apart from too much use, and Jessy always laughed when I left a giant rectangle stamp of purple foam debri at the end of class. I remember Jessy always being so graceful and peaceful like a flamingo with all of her poses. We would look out the window at the other buildings, until turning sideways to get a view of Mcdonalds and honking cars. Our yoga instructor told us to lay down on our backs and put our feet in our hands like a baby, and to let out a deep breath. Some man in the class takes it upon himself to yell HAAWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW and Jessy had to completely lay down on her mat because she was laughing so hard. Her laughter was so contagious, and I started laughing, along with the entire room - and this place was donation based in NYC, so it was a PACKED studio. The people in the back probably didn't even know what they were laughing at.

After getting out of class, Jessy liked to make fun of the final poem they told at the end of class, by adding her own spin on it. We usually went to Silver Moon bakery for a nice cookie and croissant, but today was special, and Jessy wanted to go to a famous bagel place called Absolute Bagels. We had done our research beforehand, and were well prepared for the line of eternity. I was ready to go home and scarf down my famous bagel in peace, but Jessy insisted that we go sit at the nearest bench we could find. We sat down and Jessy pointed out a small wooden sign that looked like it could have been made by fairies. On it, was horrifically painted in all caps in fire red "RAT HOLE" with an arrow. We could NOT stop laughing, and Jessy was a sight to see with her gigantic proper New York bagel with a tiny bit of cream cheese on her jacket.

Jessy, always with her unlimited energy, wanted to go to central park, still carrying our yoga mats like we were New York city elite. We did some handstands which we could never do in the studio because it was too crowded. Jessy claimed she would clock someone in the head coming down from a handstand. We eventually just laid down and talked about how cool it would be to have our own art show in NYC. She would do the flowers, I would pick the food. We even looked up a few places online to rent for a day and would continue to send them back and forth during that week. After landing on a place that was discounted in China Town because it didn't even have a door, we then switched to sending the most expensive absurd places to rent.

These types of mornings were my favorite. We had the whole Saturday ahead of us, would probably have some drinks later, and we were just on top of the world...at least until Monday. I will miss Jessy's laugh the most. She would just find a way to make everything funny, which is a true superpower, especially in today's world. I don't think I would have survived NYC without her..or Savannah! I am the person I am today because of Jessy and I will remember her always.