A family friend died a week ago. He was a priest, beloved by many, my grandmother being one of them. I don't know him that well, only that he was the one in-charge of Dapit Alim - a shrine located near our home. Though I don't know him that well, I have always known him to be the priest my grandmother loves since I was little. My grandmother was devoted to Dapit Alim and when I was in college, I was able to participate in the many activities in this place. I was in the youth group for two years to facilitate year-round celebrations like Holy Week, Easter Sunday, and Christmas activities. It was even because of the KH Youth in Dapit Alim that I was able to celebrate a very memorable birthday by visiting provincial jails to bring them gifts.

Last week, we received devastating news, and my grandmother cried upon hearing it. Father Dong was infected by the COVID virus a month ago and was said to have recovered. But his body was not able to fully recover as more complications happened. He was buried yesterday and everyone said their final goodbyes. 

His death, and death in general, has put me in deep thoughts. This might be an unpopular opinion but I don't see death as something that you should be afraid of. When someone dies, their time is just up. We are living in a borrowed time and when our time's up, there's nothing we can do but stop existing.

I grew up sheltered and not knowing much about death. I haven't been to many funerals and I haven't lost anyone of value yet. I'm sure this will come in the future and I just hope that when that time comes, I will be able to accept it.

Where am I going with this post? I should've written my thoughts the past week rather than just letting them disappear into thin air. Now, I can't even compose a decent sentence that makes sense. I'm just babbling away and I guess what I wanted to say here is that death is inevitable. It's okay to grieve the people we lost, it's okay to cry and let out the sorrow through tears because I just recently understood that people cry when someone dies not because of unacceptance, but because they will miss the people who have ceased to exist.

This is why I have always strongly believed in living your life the way you want to live it because we can never be certain about the time. Nothing is permanent because there will always be changes. Do the things you love, do the things that make you happy. Strive to achieve your goals and don't let anything hinder you from reaching your dreams. After all, you only have one life and only one chance to live it. xx