Death never comes at an opportune time.
My maternal grandmother passed away the day of SGA elections at FSC, where I was running for Student Body President. After I found out about her death, I was informed that I lost the election by 11 votes. My maternal grandfather passed away a year prior to that, I was in the middle of talking to the parents of 300 new freshmen when I received that call.
Yesterday afternoon I received a text from my sister that read, “[paternal Grandmother] unresponsive for two days, she might leave us in 24 hours.” Later that night I was running a tech rehearsal for my show that’s opening this weekend when I reached for my phone to see if there were any updates.
When I picked it up it began to ring and I knew right away.
I spent the next 15 minutes in a hallway talking to my parents, sisters, and brother. It doesn’t matter how far ahead you know- the moment is still painful.
After rehearsal I went home and saw on Twitter that there somebody else had died as well. The legendary Steve Jobs, the man who changed our digital world, lost his battle with cancer.
I don’t need to describe the impact he had on the world, you can see it through the record breaking reaction on Twitter, the tributes, the quotes, and the emotion shared by those that have no connection to him short of owning one of the many products he invented.
While the world is busy remembering the loss of a tech giant, I am remembering the passing of one who had a giant impact on my life. Separated by a language barrier, I cannot say my relationship to her was as close as other grandparent-grandchild relationships; however I honor her for loving her family that included 11 sons and daughters.
I rarely talk about the story about my family’s journey to the United States from Vietnam and I won’t go into detail about it now but my grandparents escaped oppression, imprisonment and who knows what else when they all came over to the United States. As a first generation American I am proud and thankful for the sacrifices my parents and grandparents went through to ensure a better life for me.
Two people died last night. The value and impact of both lives cannot be compared: one touched the lives of millions around the world. The other made a lasting impact on a select few. Both have touched my life in different ways, both will inspire me in days to come.
“Life is short, but sweet for certain.” -David J. Matthews
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