About Death

The transition from Jose Uribe to death seems awkward so I won’t even try. Today I was reading some of my student’s reflective writing pieces on death. I am impressed with my students and how open they can be. I remember being so afraid to let teachers know the real me. My students wrote about emotionally crushing experiences. To take that leap of faith shows how open and mature they are.
I am sort of embarrassed to say that I didn’t share my stories. Being a scared eighteen year old and crying uncontrollably in front of Kaiser Permanente in Vallejo was something I didn’t share. I remember watching my dad in a moment of weakness as he stood by his grandmother’s side realizing that this could be the last time. Or remembering my brother tell me how he spent two hours digging a proper burial for our dog, Odie, in a torrential down pour. In thinking about all my stories and my student’s stories I realized that experiencing death is not a moment of weakness but more strength; the strength of being able to show emotion and not hide your feelings. This is a moment where my students something. My students have taught me how important death is in our lives and that true strength is learning something from those moments.