RIP Harold Ramis

I'm not one of those people who mourns the death of celebrities like they were my best friends, but this one makes me sad.

Harold Ramis has passed away. If you don't know him, I guarantee you know his movies: Animal House, Caddyshack, Stripes, Groundhog Day, and GHOSTBUSTERS. This man was THE Egon Spengler, people. EGON.

Can I just tell you all what an impact this guy had on my childhood? I was obsessed with the Ghostbusters. This obsession is one I don't talk about often. It's not like it's a secret. It's just... special to me. Everyone knows I still have my Captain Planet and Ninja Turtles action figures. No one knows I still have my Ghostbusters lunchbox that I carried around for the first 5 years of my educational career. I felt like such a nerd when I started school... because I am one. And every day at lunch, I felt scared to go in to the cafeteria and sit with the other kids. But I would walk in there and look at my purple plastic Ghostbusters lunchbox with my Ghostbusters thermos (don't act like you don't remember these 90s lunchtime gems) and look at Egon Spengler, and think about how it's okay to be a huge nerd, because Egon is a huge nerd and he helped save the world from evil spirits. That's another thing: I was (and still am) terrified of ghosts. The Ghostbusters made me feel SAFE as a kid.

Egon Spengler was a superhero to me, because 1. he was the biggest nerd, and 2. he showed that being a nerd is AWESOME and can save the world.

So, there is my little heartfelt tribute to Harold Ramis. Thanks for bringing Egon Spengler to life. Besides being hilarious and talented, you had a major life impact on one sad little girl in New Jersey.

RIP EGON <3