Gabe Zimmerman

I have been to a lot of funerals, probably because I come from a large extended family, a small town, and my line of work as a Child Life Specialist. Today was Gabe's memorial service. I have never been more inspired at a funeral as I was at Gabe's today. Person after person got up to speak about how genuine he was, how quick he was to stand up for others, how he literally died helping others (he was reaching out to help Gabby and Ron who had already been shot when he was killed), how everything he did he did with passion. It made me realize that it doesn't matter how long we live, it's the way we live that will leave an imprint. We have to choose the paths we want to take, not just happen upon them. It is my hope today that I will strive to do all that I do with passion. That I would live my life well. That I would put God, my family, friends, and strangers before housework, the internet, and other petty things that can consume too much time. In the words of Obama, "I want to live up to the expectations of the children in our country who see our world full of endless innocent possibilities". Feel free to remind me of this often.