Kimona Venieri
Mykonos/NYC
How old do you want to live to be?
I would like to live long enough to decide who my grandchildren will marry.
Do you have a fantasy funeral?
A massive party honoring the life I lived.
What scares you the most about dying?
Hurting the people I love.
What would your 3 pieces of wisdom be for the those left behind?
That I’m always with them, near or far, protecting them. That the greatest thing they’ll ever learn is to love and be loved. Once you overcome the grief you’ll start remembering me again.
If you had a destination funeral where would it be?
Mykonos
Open casket wake? Burial? Cremation?
If I am to be buried I would like to be buried in my family grave in the cemetery of Marousi or the first cemetery of Athens, open casket.
If cremation, where would you want your ashes spread?
If I am cremated, I would like to be thrown into the Aegean.
Top 5 songs to play at your funeral?
Unforgettable - Nat King Cole
Kimona Kimona - Asha Bhosle
Gangster’s Paradise - Coolio
Pali Tha Klapso - Marinella
Oblivion - Astor Piazzolla
If you could live forever, would you want to?
I would only want to if I can live with the ones I love.
Where do you think you go once you die?
We go everywhere.
If there is a heaven who are 3 people you would like to hang out with?
I cannot make up my mind. A crowd that I can at least play a game of cards with.
“This isn’t our last party, whatever I love in memory or reality they are the same.”
Do you believe in ghosts?
I believe in energy.
If reincarnation is real what do you want to come back as?
I would like to come back as a part of someone’s will to live, their courage.
What are three words you hope people use to describe you when you are gone?
Holy, genius, and gorgeous
Biggest regret in life?
I regret cutting my grandmother off when she would tell me a story. There are so many stories I couldn’t heard and couldn’t become a part of me and haven’t.
What are the top 3 things that helped you through grief?
Remembering and living is honoring the ones who’ve gone, and the ones who’ve gone should become your will to live. Immortality may not exist but can occur through creation and reproduction. I’m not scared because some time you realize you’ve given birth to what you’ve been looking for your whole life. Whether it’s children, a friendship, or career related. My mom once told me that when you lose someone you understand that everyone around you carries their sorrows. This compassion makes the world strong.
Best advice someone gave to you?
You’ll meet the past in the future.
Did meditation, friends, food help you the most?
Dancing, singing, and swimming has helped. But in the end it’s our friendships that ground us, they allow us to be in the present.
