so it goes.
i’ve always been an explorer, particularly of the music kind. i love discovering new songs, new artists, new genres. in particular, i used to listen to (but fell out of touch with) hip hop and rap. i rediscovered the genre not too long ago, after stumbling across music from mac miller. i was instantly hooked. though he wasn’t an artist i frequented, he always remained at the back of my mind, reminding me how i found my way back to one of my favorite types of music. he did a lot for me, and i always looked up to him as a talented, ingenuous, grounded, influential, and highly respected musician. you don’t find many of those anymore.
the news hit me like a punch in the gut that friday afternoon. my heart dropped when i heard about your terrible fate. i didn’t focus on class for the rest of the day. i couldn’t believe it. you didn’t deserve that. you had so much going for you. i’m so sorry that you were yet another victim to such an overpowering demon.
then, i delved deeper into your music. i barely even scratched the surface of your discography. there were so many songs i never knew about, yet didn’t get to experience until now. i feel awful. i wish i had appreciated you more earlier. you wrote a song standing up to our president, you spoke against him in a defiant stance that proved you knew how to use your platform. you used it for good. for better. and now, your platform is empty, and you won’t ever be able to send your message again. it’s just not fair.
we will remember you. we promise. your legacy will live on. thank you.
i think for us, this is a reminder that life is so, so precious. it can slip between our fingers at any moment, even if we think we’re grasping onto it. even if we think we’re surviving. i think we often forget how fragile we are as a species, how delicate our bones are and soft our skin is. we like to think of ourselves as superheroes, these amazing creatures that will be prospering for eternity. we often forget about our own mortality. what makes that so devastating, is that we are shaken to the core the very moment we are reminded firsthand that life isn’t everlasting. with every single reminder, we slowly begin to realize that our seconds are ticking away. they could be ticking away for the next 70 years of our lives, or our final tick could be within the foreseeable future. we never know. and that’s what terrifies us. we are only human.
so never forget. memento mori.
–
E.L.