Sam was less than a year older than me, so we were practically raised as twins. In the twelve and a half years that Sam was in my life, we shared everything - from strollers, to rooms, to toys, to birthday parties, to friends, to finally, just a few months before his death, our B’Nai Mitzvah. We shared nearly all of our childhood milestones, from losing training wheels, to traveling to a different country, to riding Superman at Six Flags. Thus when time came for our Bar and Bat Mitzvahs, the biggest milestone in our young teenage years, we knew without a doubt we would share that day too.
Sam loved to make people laugh; he was the class clown in school. He provided a constant supply of jokes and knew how to light up a room with his positive energy and dimpled smile. Although a troublemaker and jokester, I will never forget the months we spent working on our B’Nai Mitzvah material together and how seriously he worked to perfect it. It was during this time that I knew that when he put his mind to something he really cared about, he could achieve anything in the world. On this day, I got to not only witness, but also to be a part of, the proudest moments of my brother’s life. I always admired him, and looked up to him - Sam wasn’t just my friend and brother, he was my role model.
Learning to live without my big brother was once an impossible task, and still a battle I fight daily, but now an accepted part of my life I have learnt to live with. I have chosen to honor Sam’s life by living the best life I can. Every day I think of the courage and strength he possessed on the day of our B’Nai Mitzvah, and in that memory I find my own strength, too. His adventurous spirit is the biggest part of who I am, because Sam possessed the unique quality of truly living in the moment, and making the most of every day. Because of Sam, the first thing I ask myself when I wake up every morning, is what can I do to make today the best possible day it could be? What role can I play today in making the world a better place? I don’t have a doubt that with a smile on his face, Sam believed - If you smile, others will smile, and there isn't anything else that matters. This is the gift that Sam has given me; a gift that I hope his memory can give to others as well.
Being thirteen, Sam was at an age that we can all agree is a complex, confusing, and difficult time in our youth to navigate. Sam, like many young teens, was regularly seen with his bright smile, though he was internally fighting an unimaginable battle. Sam's memorial scholarship will honor him by helping teenagers going through their own battles, remember to know that life will always get better. I cannot think of a more fitting way to honor my brother, Sam, than to both live the happiest life I can, but also help other children do the same.
Michelle's Tribute to Sam
