Dream Deferred ...

What happens to a dream deferred?

Does it dry up
like a raisin in the sun?
Or fester like a sore--
And then run?
Does it stink like rotten meat?
Or crust and sugar over--
like a syrupy sweet?

Maybe it just sags
like a heavy load.

Or does it explode?

- Langston Hughes

A year ago to date (give or take a few days), I attended the memorial service for my classmate - DS. On monday, I attended the memorial service for a fellow Eagle at WCL, lets call her WD. Two very different people, with whom I had different interactions with, but yet have made a profound impact on me.

DS was in his early twenties, was married and had a child on the way; he was cheerful, laid back and sharp as a tack - but was intensely guarded. We had met on the first day of class, and had shared the usual rigmarol of 1L - especially the horrors of legal writing. I never really knew him too well, but he was a part of the section C family - and we all stuck by each other.

I met WD only once; she was soliciting volunteers to help high school students write their college essays at the law school. I happened to be sitting there, and noticed the sign. I signed up to volunteer, and offered to forward the information on the ILF listserv - which I did. Unfortunately, the program for the day I signed up to go to the high school was cancelled and I didn't have an opportunity to work with WD.

DS took his own life on February 1, 2006, leaving behind his young wife and unborn son. WD passed away on January 13, 2007, after a 10 year battle with Lupus, leaving behind a sincerely loving extended-extended family.

These two people entered my life briefly - but have moved me to think about where I'm going. They've moved me to strengthen my faith, in different ways, and strengthen my ties to the people around me. Life is too short to dilly dally, and play with emotions.

This post is about remembrance - and about faith. None of us really know what prompted DS to act the way that he did - but it appeared to be a result of his struggle with his faith. WD was deeply committed to her faith, and it appears from the memorial that it was what kept her going. Amazing how something so simple can mean the difference.

To those that read this blog, it's more than likely that you know me and have impacted my life in some way. Some of you have changed the way I view the world, and some of you may have changed the way I view myself, or my work. No two paths cross without a life being changed, even if it is in the subtlest of ways. And for the change that you initiated, no matter how small, I thank you.