Thank you so much for listening to this very special Sunday Special! My words cannot express the gratitude I feel to the listeners of WREK and to WREK for the opportunity to do this show.

Penelope Abellera was my best friend and roommate and with some of her other best friends, including Spring, Anna S., Emelia, Olivia, Katie, Anna N, and her dear mom Anne, we put together this show to honor Penelope and share her spirit with the world. It means the world to me to be able to share music that Penelope loved and share alongside it the memories that made that music so special. Penelope loved WREK and I know she would be so happy to know that her favorite music was played on WREK's airwaves to honor her.

Penelope was the most amazing friend anyone could ask for. She was courageous, passionate, brave, kind-hearted, and always thinking of others. She was a firecracker and made the most of every day. From the day I met Penelope 5 years ago, she was constantly running around between concerts, cheer practices, hang outs with friends, activism, and her studies. She was a true social butterfly and could make anyone feel special and seen through her sincere observations. Penelope brought all of us together and showed us what true friendship is. Friendship that inspires you, challenges you, and supports you through the worst life has to throw at you. Anyone who met Penelope instantly loved her and was impacted by her. You just knew you were meeting someone special.

Penelope was diagnosed with Osteosarcoma our third year of college, in the fall of 2022. After two long years of battling, Penelope passed away on November 25th, 2024. Throughout all of her suffering Penelope was unwavering in her character and remained the goofiest, wittiest, and most caring person in the room. Her devotion to her friends and family and the world around her never left, even as she was fighting more pain than any of us could imagine. We miss her so much, every single moment of every day.

I didn't realize how meaningful playing music that she loved would feel, but it is a really special thing to be able to share with the world. To all of her family who listened or reads this, I hope this gives you more insight into the person Penelope was with her friends and in her inner life. To the WREK listeners who don't know me or Penelope or any student on campus, thank you so much for listening. I hope this show touched your life in a positive way and through it, Penelope's spirit continues to impact people. This is a reminder to hold the people you love close and to never take anything for granted.

I love and miss you, Penelope. And thanks for having amazing music taste so we could share it with the world.

Donation links and resources:

Penelope's MIB Family Fund: HERE
OSI (Osteosarcoma Institute - supports research for a cure): HERE
Penelope's city planning Instagram page (mentioned in the show): HERE

Playlist on Spotify:

Songs played and snippets of memories shared:

Angelina // Pinegrove - A song I feel like was on all of her playlists
Heart It Races // Dr. Dog - One of Penelope's all time favorites
Drunk Drivers/Killer Whales // Car Seat Headrest
King of Carrot Flowers Pt. 1 // Neutral Milk Hotel - Penelope loved to make up fake song titles similar to those of Neutral Milk Hotel and Car Seat Headrest

Space Song // Beach House - 'Floating A in the Kitchen' memory
Amercian Teenager // Ethel Cain
Fitzpleasure // alt-J - Concert with Anne and Emelia
Someone Great // LCD Soundsystem - One of Anne's favorite songs that reminds her of Penelope

Roll The Bones // Shakey Graves - One of Penelope's all time favorites
Kyoto // Phoebe Bridgers - Song we would scream sing together at every event
Amour Plastique // Videoclub - Penelope was fluent in French! Many memories associated with her and France, Spring shared about study abroad
1979 // The Smashing Pumpkins - Concert with Katie and Brooke

Washing Machine Heart // Mitski - Concert with Anna S
Sagittarius Superstar // COIN, Faye Webster - Concert with Emelia, Brooke, Anna N, she was always bringing people together
Hot Patootie - Bless My Soul // Meat Loaf from Rocky Horror Picture - Penelope LOVED rocky horror and we went every October
Ready or Not // Shakey Graves, Sierra Ferrell

A Dream With a Baseball Player // Faye Webster - Concert with Katie, memory of Penelope helping a man with his wheelchair, even when she was on crutches herself
Everybody Wants to Love You // Japanese Breakfast - <3
Rawnald Gregory Erickson the Second // STRFKR
Supercut // Lorde - Anna shared memory of Penelope bringing us together as friends

Picture to Burn // Taylor Swift - Penelope loved angry country, always so passionate
Weekend Friend // Goth Babe
Garden Song // Phoebe Bridgers - One of Penelope's all time favorites
A Burning Hill // Mitski

August // Taylor Swift - 'August slipped away in a moment of time!' a favorite saying
California // Joni Mitchell - Anne's favorite album that she shared with Penelope
Silver Springs // Fleetwood Mac
Spiderhead // Cage The Elephant

To finish the show we shared some of Penelope's 'platform' as she called it. Inspired by presidential platforms, but basically a list of things she was passionate about, some silly and some serious! Here are the ones we shared:
- Walkability and transit-oriented development (check out her instagram)
- Pigeons are our friends and not pests
- Ban platform sinks ('I hate them, there's no storage I hate them' - Penelope)
- Hellen Keller was real shut up
- Fines for listening to stuff on your phone out loud in a public space

Thank you again!