Good Example Of My 8 Year Old Best Friend Dying From A Plane Accident Essay

His memories are still very vivid in my mind. We shared a lot, and he encouraged me to take a different approach towards life. His sense of humor and view towards life still challenge me to this date. Sometimes I ask myself why God lets such events happen. Is the death kind or even fair? Why is it that the good get to die while those who don’t do well or are not necessarily serving humanity in a good way the ones who get to live and have a long life? If I were God then merit would be given to those who serve humanity and benefit it by contributing positively towards its growth. But yet again I am happy that am not God. Deciding on who gets to live and who gets to die would be a difficult task. So why would I ask such questions or seek such answers? I lost a friend who was so dear in a plane crash. It was the greatest loss I have ever had in my life and thought the best way to capture our memories would be writing a memoir about the experiences we both shared.
His name is Wesley Khan. I often asked him why his parents chose that name, but he usually shied away from the question. He felt the name Khan didn’t fit him as he considered himself an authentic, American, who didn’t share an Asian name, but then I did some background check on this issue and was able to find out that his lineage traced back to Asia. His great grandfather was an Asian immigrant who had left his country for a better life in America. This was during the 1880s when slavery was being practiced a lot. He worked on cotton farms in Lubbock, Texas and was among the few immigrants who managed to save enough of their hard earned cash to buy a 50 hectare ranch. Wesley Khan was given birth to on the 10th 0f April 1991. He was the first child to John Khan and Elizabeth Steel. His place of birth is in Lubbock County hospital, and he weighed almost 5 kg at birth. This is an abnormal size for a baby, and it did provide some complications during delivery. But according to the Asian culture this was a good sign as it signified that the boy would be a successful person in the future. To Asian’s, wealth is associated with weight. The heavier the person the wealthier he is thought to be. Being born at 5 kg, meant he was rare and could do unique things to enhance the way society related with one another. This was a true prophecy as this got displayed in the type of life he lived.
I visited Wesley’s family in order to get more information on the type of child Wesley was. It was not my first time there, and Wesley's mum gives me a warm smile as she welcomes me in. She knew how close I was to Wesley and the projects we had undertaken together. Her eyes look teary when I inform her that am doing a memoir for her son. Wesley’s mother articulates that it is challenging living without him since he was her only son. She loved her so much often referring to him as her bundle of joy. She gives me a photo album of the boy Wesley. What surprised me is how wonderful her memory was. Every picture of Wesley in the album has a good story behind it. On one particular photo, Wesley is very dirty with tattered clothes. His mum narrates that on this specific date it had rained so much. Wesley and his friends had a habit of playing on the mad whenever it rained. They could sit on makeshift boards and slide downhill. But what amuses me is the story she shares about how it was difficult to divorce Wesley from breast milk. He suckled for close to 3 years, and his mother had to employ stringent measures so that Wesley stops suckling. She had to use pepper. I found this narrative to be extremely funny but very relevant. Wesley had a huge appetite for lack of a better word. He was a big guy who almost got to 100 kg. His favorite meal comprised of chicken and French fries. I tried so much to convince him to attend aerobic classes. He did attend once and swore never to do it again.
I am also a native of Lubbock. My parents own a ranch and we mostly into cotton and dairy farming. Wesley’s family also does the same type of farming activities, but they also have corn and barley. We met under the most awkward moments in our life. Our ranches are close and since the fencing had been breached by animals before no repair had ever been done. We usually let our dairy cows stroll around the ranch at least to fetch for their own food. On this day, though, it turned out that this had always been a bad idea from the onset. Our cows had attacked their corn firm and eaten a good portion of the raw material. I have never seen a person who can show a temper like Wesley’s dad showed.
He was from a local meeting disc using what qualities they needed to incorporate in their farming so that they increase their yield and avoid diseases from unexpected avenues. When he first noted that there were cows in his farm, he didn’t say anything. He drove quickly to our ranch demanding that such an action surmounted to trespass, and he was legally obliged to shoot them all. He, therefore stated that by law, he could shoot them and kill him, and we would do nothing about it. Furthermore, he stated that such behavior was tantamount to carelessness and that we had the hidden agenda of bringing down the operations in his ranch. His father was so angry that they almost fought. If it were not for the sheriff showing up and setting a proper channel for conversation and negotiation, then the fight was blooming. We kids were not allowed to watch adults conversing so differently. We were, therefore, asked to go play as we let the men discuss contentious issues. At our first meeting, we played with our toys and realized that indeed we connected at different levels.
We found ourselves in the same school in Lubbock. We naturally became deskmates. The years spent in this school provided us with the most important memories that can never be forgotten. We were both very intelligent often competing against one another leaving behind the other children. We had a different test for extracurricular activities though. I was into soccer often representing my school in competitions. Wesley, on the other hand, was into art and theatre. He started at a tender age with written poems and presented them during important meetings in the county. This talent grew and within no time Wesley was able to write plays and often demanded to be involved as a cast in them. His enormous voice and command of the stage always worked for him as he was able to pick up many scholarships as we processed in life. It’s amusing trying to remember how poor he was in football. It would be safe to equal it to him having 2 left feet when it came to having chemistry between the foot and the ball.
But Wesley wasn’t such a perfect guy. He also had fears and was shy when it came to certain social matters. I can state that he was indeed a geek who focused much of his attention on scholarly work. Wesley had this obsession of wanting to use academic knowledge in improving the economic status of the society. The tales that had been narrated to him by his dad about Asia really motivated him to want to excel so much in academics and become a renowned engineer. By achieving this, he could be able to go back to his country and build more roads and supply better housing to locals. So much had he developed such a passion that he inspired me also to take almost a similar approach. Before focusing on the individual projects we did engage in, I would like to mention some of the weaknesses he portrayed.
Wesley spent most of his days in the Library. He was the calibre of guy who couldn't let an assignment get too difficult or even be termed impossible to do. Such a quality made him an education enthusiast who always strived to be at the top and let no one defeat him. This sort of behavior also led to him developing a competitive spirit that was intimidating in a way. It made him grow into an arrogant fellow who believed he was the best and no one else was meant to be ahead of him. When indeed somebody performed better than he did, and I must admit I did a couple of times, he would get frustrated and depressed for some days before embarking on endless reading so that he improves on his grades. I felt guilty during such times and felt that it would be healthier to let him lead but then again beating Wesley was an achievement that anyone in the class could pride in and a good massage to one’s ego.
Wesley was also shy when it came to interaction with the female folk. Since he took most of his time studying and doing research he never got time to interact with other people especially the women folk. During our teenage years when we were in high school there was this particular girl he had a crush on. He just couldn’t bring himself to express that feeling to her let alone speak to her. The girl was beautiful and couldreally attract a lot of attention from other men who Wesley felt were better looking than him. Wesley wasn’t comfortable with his weight. He felt he was obese and couldn’t be any girl’s fantasy. I always told him that even though the physical matters girls tend to like people depending on their personality and soft skills. If he was able to treat a girl well and be soft on her then he would indeed win her over. I was glad that he was capable of applying this later in life and got into a relationship thatdefinitely would have ended up in a good marriage. His girlfriend Helen is still mourning him and hasn’t been able to move on. She describes him as a gentle guy who always wanted to use his knowledge to better the society.
Wesley and I shared some good times both in school and on a social platform. I remember in seventh grade we participated in a debating context in the wider Lubbock area. We were in a set of 3 people. Wesley was in charge of doing the research and preparing content for the debate. I, on the other hand, was the vocal one who argued out those points will objecting and opposing the points our opponents brought forward. If properly challenged Wesley would leave the comfort of his chair and contribute to the debate. He was a softer speaker whose words were few, but the impact they had was quite remarkable. After arguing and arguing some more Wesley would pull off his stand, and that's how we were able to win various debating contests in Lubbock County. My trophy cabinet is full of medals and trophies we both won. It was renowned in the county that the two of us together was quite a force to reckon with when it came to debating contests.
Another project we undertook together was a science project that enabled us to get scholarships in high school. We sort out to investigate how Brain Imaging Techniques could be used in explaining certain relationships between biological factors and how they affect human behavior. Our research focused on the health measures that can be taken to explain how the two relate to each other. We also analyzed the machines employed during such research and the effect they had on patients. This specific research won an award in Lubbock County. Part of the award involved getting a scholarship hence the both of us benefitted. I must admit though Wesley and it did that most of the research work was his brilliance that enabled us to get that scholarship.
After high school Wesley felt the need to visit his home country in Asia. He had accepted that he did have a connection to that place, and it would be wise to pay it a visit and just get see how it looks appreciate its value. We had been admitted to the same university, and we were both hoping to become roommates and partake in various projects that would ensure we continue serving humanity in a good way. I remember I drove him to the airport as he was headed there. We changed phone contacts and were able to communicate continuously when he was in Asia. He shared pictures over Facebook on the historic sites he visited and even the leaders he was able to meet. He did start an initiative one that was to help eradicate poverty in his rural home. He grouped people, and we had agreed that when he comes back we will look for funds to help these people have meaningful lives. He called me as he was leaving Asia and was to arrive the next day in the evening. The next day I waited for the plane to arrive, but it never did.