I'm struggling, y'all.
What I wanted to do was finish up a blog post about my (too short) time volunteering at the Balata Government School in St. Lucia, and how I've since been inspired to do more global charity work. I wanted to tell you guys about how the Principal of the school whispered to me that she was extra happy we came, because "the children never see anyone come here who is the same complexion as them". I wanted to have a discussion on global volunteering and the perceived lack of minority participants...but for the last few days, I've been dealing with the loss of my cousin, who passed away late last week from leukemia.
I haven't dealt with a death this close to me in a long time, so I'm not sure what to do with myself these days. Compounding this is that part of me is still on Cloud 9 from the honeymoon, which means that my mind is everywhere except on concrete things like work, school, and blogging. It's a weird place to be in.
Anyways - I put it on Oprah's OWN channel and was watching the last half of her Life Class episode. She featured a clip of Dr. Randy Pausch, the famous college professor who gave a "Last Lecture" in 2007 after he was diagnosed with recurring pancreatic cancer. I had heard of Dr. Pausch, but never watched his lecture, which went viral and has since been viewed by millions. I just found it ironic that today, when I'm going through what's been the toughest day so far, Lady O reels me in just in time to catch a bit of this lecture - by an amazing man whose thoughts and demeanour mirrored that of my cousin so well.
I hope I get my focus back soon. You may or may not see regular posts from me in the next little while, since I'll be heading out of town to join my family and celebrate my cousin's life. I love this little blog though, and since writing is my catharsis, I hope I can post something, even if it's something superficial :)
I want to write about my amazing cousin. I learned too much from him not to share with y'all. In the meantime, please check out Dr. Randy Pausch's "Last Lecture" - it's about 75 minutes long, so set aside some time. And don't worry - it is NOT depressing!
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ji5_MqicxSo]
Thank you guys for reading - I really appreciate the comments, tweets, Facebook messages, and even just running into someone who says they read this lil blog :) I hope you're inspired by Dr. Pausch's lecture!