What impacted me the most this year?

I have to be honest I have wanted to write about this the past few months. I had the most incredible role model in my life for not only me but my entire family. This was my Uncle. He was born in Trinidad and boy did I have to know my stuff before he came around. He was so smart and could so quickly humble you if you didn't know what you were talking about on just about any occasion. We had two Davids on my Dad's side of the family, so we called this one Big Uncle D. It crushes me that I'm using the past tense.

My Uncle passed away May 20th, 2023, which also, happens to be my brother's 16th birthday date. I love telling his story, but do so with a lot of hurt hearing the "ed" at the end of most of my words. My Uncle valued knowledge and family above all, or at least that's what it seemed to quite literally everyone surrounding him. I remember little things like random quizzes on where the states are and their capitals, and quizzes on places he gave us to research before our trips in Las Vegas. I have to be honest I really didn't realize how much I loved having him around until he was gone. This is such a sad but true fact among most people. Until their obituary is hanging on your wall, until you go through your first holiday without them, or until you realize the sun is still going to come up the day after you see their incapable, inactive, bodies in an open casket....you realize just how important they were to you. For a while, nothing hurts worse than knowing they aren't there.

Like I said before, I could defend to just about anyone that my uncle was the most incredible role model around. From reminding me to never say the lord's name in vain, to having an impact on everyone that met him, my uncle was by far the greatest person I've ever met. So after the most unfortunate event to hit my family thus far, I mourned and then took note of the traits I found so incredible.

One thing I noticed was two days before he passed at Applebees, I remember him asking our waiter (who was around my age) some questions. (I was so embarrassed at the time but looking back this is now notable to me) My uncle called him by his name on the name tag, asked him about his life, and got really personal with him. My uncle was a pretty personable guy in my eyes. However, the waiter really got off on the fact he was being asked about himself. And honestly, it was just one of the many ways my uncle so simply makes an impact on people. Getting to know them. I intend to do that with everyone I meet. Nobody my Uncle met was a stranger. I want to be the same way.

Another thing I noticed is his constant need to learn more, and his curiosity. I remember we planned a trip to Las Vegas and before

our trip, our uncle wanted us to research places we were going ahead of time. I believe I had to research Bryce Canyon, my sister may have had to research the Grand Canyon, and my brother may have had to research Zion National Park. I remember this so vividly because I remember wondering why it was so important for us to know the information about where we were going. But it was so important to my Uncle, so we all did it. This was a prime example of him 1) impacting us, forcing us to do better and seek more information and 2) being curious and learning more. I intend to be more curious and ask more questions and just dig deeper when it comes to my classes, or just about anything that I have an interest in.

Surely you didn't think it was over with how highly I spoke of him in the beginning right? Good. Because it's not. Another thing I took note of was his value for his family. My uncle always took the time to reach out to his family. Whether it was through sending old pictures of memories or texting you an in-depth paragraph about why you shouldn't get down on yourself about your lacrosse season. My uncle never missed a chance to text or call. He was never on his phone when spending time with you and would always remind you not to be.

I find him such an admirable person for many reasons and these were just a few of the things I found most notable but dear lord if I could write a book about him I would.

Nothing changed me more than this this year and I wish I just had a little more time with him. My Uncle passed away on his ride home from visiting with us and I will really never forget that day. It was my brother's birthday and we had just gotten him a car. After that, my brother and I had plans to go to the gym, but instead, we had to take a detour and visit with my grandma, to find out this awful news. I have his obituary in my room and I read it relatively often. I think about him before all of my games and honestly, he is what motivates me.

I remember he really didn't want me to live on campus in college, my Uncle hated drinking or the thought of me wasting my money on things that I didn't need. I just really wanted to be with my friends. With that came living on campus. Now I have made it my goal to achieve every goal I made for myself while living on campus, whether it be in lacrosse or school, I refuse to let him down. My Uncle thought if I had lived on campus where drinking and partying were so prominent, I would have been more likely to lose sight of the reason I was here. However, now that he is gone it is more important to me than ever to show him I can do it.

I hope he knows just how loved he was and how much he really and truly impacted my life, I would do anything for one more day with him. But until then, I will just keep showing him the impact he made.

December 11th 2023