Sib Nstig Dua

My family.

Over the course of this past month and a half, times have never been tougher. The juggle of work, school, and personal life have immensely impacted my performance; or my lack of it.

This past weekend, we celebrated the life of my late Uncle Blong who sadly passed on March 24th. As I've stressed in previous blog posts, I'm very close to the majority of my family members and losing one has taken a toll on my emotional state. I've been unmotivated, unhappy, and just tired. My family life has been as bumpy as Goliath at Six Flags Magic Mountain in these recent months. And it's just all really hard.

I was honored to be able to dedicate these three songs to my uncle this weekend:

• Tears in Heaven by Eric Clapton
• Amazing Grace (My Chains are Gone) by Chris Tomlin
• Mus Zoo Koj by Johnny Lo

My lovely cousins and I.

With tears on the verge of falling, I had to remember why I was singing. My eyes glanced over to my aunt, the wife of my uncle. Tears of sadness were dripping down her cheeks and I sang to comfort her, send my uncle on, and say the words she wasn't able to say. Luckily, our family from all over could join us in celebration of his life. Although it was a weekend filled with grief and a bit of emptiness, it was also refreshing and relieving to be surrounded by individuals who are so compassionate and loving. My three cousins, Ashley, Alyssa, and Salina and I were reunited after who knows how long. I just really needed to be with people I love and laugh a little more than I have been able to.

Mus zoo koj, Uncle Blong. Koj yog ib tus neeg paub kev hlub thiab paub kev zoo. Koj tus tsev neeg hlub koj cha koj paub. Wb mas sib nstig dua.

"Move on well, Uncle Blong. You're a person who knows love and all things good. Your family loves you more than you know. We will meet again."

See you next post,

Chey

Currently listening to Mus Zoo Koj by Johnny Lo