Epitaph: Nicole's Previous Phase

As of 5:33 a.m. May 17th 2008 Nicole Kristine Cosgrove turned 25 years old.

In the previous 24 years of her life leading up to her twenty-fifth birthday Nicole managed to accomplish the following: swallow a marble at the age of two and bite a hole in her tongue after jumping from a small retaining wall. At four she fell in love with a boy named Nick on the pre-school merry-go-round. At eight she attended Camp, and fell in love again. At twelve Nicole wore blush to school and shaved her legs while sitting on the edge of the bath tub at the house on Cardinal Road. The razor was pink, disposable, and quite dull. It is believed that there was an entire bottle of Colgate shaving foam stolen from her father for use in the first shaving session. Later that year Nicole had her first real kiss with a skateboarder named Mike. It was fall and both of their noses were running from the cold, which created a web of snot between their noses as they pulled away from the smooching session. Nicole's mom saw the whole thing.

In the fall Nicole was sent to Catholic school.

At thirteen Nicole had already met six women who would remain her life long friends. In the fall of 1997 Nicole met Tim, they flirted at the Class A State Soccer Tournament, and they dated for another 6 months. He bought her a bottle of CK1 for Christmas. Nicole and Tim Broke up in the spring and Tim started dating Nicole's best friend.

Junior High was simple. Full of teen angst, like Beverly Hills 90210, but simple.

In 1999 Nicole began her ski career. She melted her ski boot while relaxing by a bonfire between runs at the sectional championships. Things like this happened to Nicole a lot...or rather, Nicole made things like this happen a lot.

Between 2000 and her graduation from High School in 2002 the following happened in Nicole's life:

* She dated a man named Zan
* Back Packed for 36 days straight
*Skied
*Consumed alcohol for the first time
*Dated a man named Kevin
*Smoked Pot
*Dated a man named Leon
*Made love
*Watched her parents struggle with alcoholism
*Left her brother on the side of the road
*Smoked Hookah
*Applied to three Colleges
*Got rejected from one College
*Got into college of her choice
*Became passionate about movie making
*Saw her dad get sober
*Graduated
*Watched her mother go to treatment
*Drove to Colorado
*Started a life out west

The mini-phase:

Colorado was like a mini-phase for Nicole. She helped people make a lot of movies, she made her own movies, she slept ate and breathed anything that had to do with movies...and skiing. She missed her six life long friends who went to college all over the country. She tried to help her mom get better and realized she couldn't. Nicole Graduated, had a mini-meltdown, ran off to Costa Rica for a month, came back, worked on a feature film, sold all her furniture and moved to New York City.

Nicole is survived by her ability to keep on keepin' on, positive attitude, and desire to not make the same mistakes as she has in the past. A service was held for the previous phase at 11:59 p.m. on May 16th 2008 in the courtyard outside of her Brooklyn apartment. There were two individuals in attendance, as well as Nicole. The three smoked a cigarette and said farewell to the last 24 years.

**Dearly beloved, you are all gathered around your computer screens to say farewell to the "Previous Phase." The New Phase is about honesty- so I am going to put it all out there on the internet- and try to move away from hiding. Although I do admit judging by the laundry list above I have some serious ground to cover. I will try to impart my changes in greater detail- but I didn't want to over elaborate on the last 24 years, since that might have been an entire blog's worth of info.

So I ask you all to let go with me...let go of a moment from your day, a time that you regret, or a time that you are looking forward to so much that you cant stay focused on the NOW, and participate in letting go of this Previous Phase, and welcoming the birth of the New Phase...

I have always felt that death should be mourned, and that life should be celebrated. I will always mourn the past, and the past lives that I have lived for the last 25 years, and the relationships and the places that are no longer a part of my daily life but will always be a part of my memories. However, I celebrate having had so much opportunity, love and hardships that have made me who I am. And I celebrate the beginning of something new...something that has been in the works for far longer than I realize...something that is bigger than me or any of us. So stay tuned if you wish as the New Phase unfolds. It is sure to be full of funny and real New Life, New Phase, New York stories...it is all about the NEW.

Here Lies
Previous Phase
May 17th, 1983-May 17th, 2008
May you stay in my memories only, thank you for the good times, this is the new year and things are going to be very different.
R.I.P.

* Stay tuned for the New Phase guidelines. Until then enjoy the New Phase soiree photos.