Goodbye, Peter

Once in a while, you get to meet someone so memorable that you will immediately recall his/her name on your next encounter. And once in a VERY few while, you will meet someone like Peter. Peter was a very vibrant, energetic, intelligent, and caring individual. If you’re friended with him on Facebook, you’ll get to see many pictures of Peter laughing while engaging in his activities with his church’s youth group, his missionary works in Vietnam, and the usual things that a 22 year old would do. Tragically, Peter was 22 years of  age when he was involved in an automobile accident this past Thursday, ending what looked like a very bright and promising future ahead.

I remember chatting with Peter one morning not long ago while we were spending the weekend at a friend’s place. Peter was taking advantage of the quiet house to try  finishing up his final paper, and we started talking about random things. What was funny was that he convinced me that I have ADHD, which I suspected for a long time that I have. We also talked about photography, Vietnam and what we can do to help our people back home.  *sigh* Earlier today at the viewing, as I walked up to Peter’s lifeless, peaceful body and touched his cold hands, I realized that so many people will miss Peter dearly for how he’d touched their lives. What struck me even more was hearing his parents’ cries. That evening, at my parents’ house, I caught my mom by surprise when I gave her a biggo kiss on the cheek while she was talking about her day.

I understand this post doesn’t have to be a public post for everyone to read, however, I just wanted whoever is reading this to look around them and appreciate the people around you. Be more proactive with your loved ones – talk, play, hug, smile, (insert more verbs here) with them. For me, I’m glad that I was really proactive with my camera in capturing my personal events. One was a few weeks ago when Peter came over to hang out, and I recorded him singing “Hallelujah” with others, and as my friend Lisa stated, “it’s such a sadly fitting song”.

Thanks for hearing me out. Good night world. Good bye, Peter.

Hallelujah! from Tri D on Vimeo.