by Kemyia Austin

Created on: September 03, 2009

Walking along the beach barefoot allows your feet to sink deep into the sand. When you lift your foot, there is an impression of what was once there. A size 81/2 foot will always be outside my Godmother's front door. She left me a few years ago without saying good-bye but I know that she left her footprint for me to remember her by. Though she is gone, she has never been forgotten because her legacy of love, life, and acceptance stays with the important gifts people are able to give in life.

There are people in this world who have been given the gift to touch people with their lives. Such people like Michael Jackson, James Brown, Marvin Gaye, Martin Luther King Jr., Gandhi, Etta James, and so much more. They spent their lives entertaining others and making sure that people were going to be okay. They are the household names that are spoken around the world. And then there are those whom touch us individually, like my Godmother Rose who left her footprint in my heart or my Great Aunt Barbara who artistic talent taught children to express their hearts and minds. They are both gone but for every tear I cried, a memory was carved into my heart where my mind will never forget the wonders they have done for me. I am content with the experience I was able to share with the both of them. They have given me something that I will cherish for the rest of my life, their heart.

Many who have gone will always have something left behind. Every person in the world, no matter how mean, cruel, or ignorant, will leave something. This allows people never to be forgotten. But there is a difference between never being forgotten and being remembered. When you are never forgotten, it is being known for giving some of yourself to another and allowing your life to touch others. When you are remembered, you have left an imprint of your life in someone else's. I know I will never be forgotten because I have my family and friends that are close to me. My goal is to be remembered. I want the memories of me to be positive and uplifting. I give myself to my loved ones and allow my heart to touch another. I want to give apart of me to helping someone so that I know that life will continue once all the leaders and abolitionists have gone. The goal of Martin Luther King Jr was not only for equality for all people but to ensure that in his departure, his family and friends will be okay. It is a known fact that no one stays around forever, being remembered for the things you have done and who you were as a person is something to cherish.

I cherish you Ms. Rose for you have given me positive memories and life lessons I could never forget. I remember you Aunt Barbara for the paintings you created and the smiles you gave. I remember them both. There are gone but never forgotten, they are remembered.

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