The Lion's Pride Volume 10 (Spring 2018) | Page 36

death takes one of my family members I want to just be able to give
them the rest they wanted and grieve peacefully.
Death is one of the most misunderstood topics in our current society.
The fact that we haul off corpses within minutes of their heart stopping
suggests that the body wasn’t a live being at one point; a mother, father,
sister, friend. They were all somebody, but as soon as their life is done,
so is the connection we have with them. I know the day someone I love
dies, I will be with them. Even if they are cold to the touch and life has
left them, they were someone I loved and no state will change that.
People think I’m sick for wanting to be the one to dress and wash my
mother’s body, but why? When I was an infant she did the same for me
so why shouldn’t I be able to return the favor?
One day, I hope my family and western culture will come to
understand and appreciate death like I, and many other cultures and
individuals, do. I am lucky in the fact that death follows me and that I
have embraced him. He supports me like nothing else can. He reminds
me that even though I can’t control when it happens, I know it will be
time and I won’t be afraid.