I wrote my obituary. Maybe you should stop freaking out about it and write yours too.

Write my own obituary?! Why would I even do this? Am I crazy? Am I seeking attention? Am I sending subliminal messages about some kind of harm that I intend to do to myself? What is wrong with me, you ask?

Well, none of the above is the case. For one reason:

Psalms 39:4-5 “Lord, remind me how brief my time on earth will be. Remind me that my days are numbered— how fleeting my life is. You have made my life no longer than the width of my hand. My entire lifetime is just a moment to you; at best, each of us is but a breath.”

Secondly, I am leaning in to the direction of my creative lead. Who am I to censure myself? Besides, If I find that the idea of death is fascinating to me, and I did not create it within myself, then I owe me the responsibility to honour the specific wellspring of ideation that has been accorded to me. If death is where I will be taken, then so be it.

In my imagination, this speech will be given by whomever it will be that shall make it. I imagine that this will be at the time when I’m laid either in the Church or wherever it is that the people will be gathered. (If I and my people are accorded that grace)

So, here goes:

We are gathered here today, to celebrate the life of Anna Grace Awilli: a beloved daughter, sister, friend, cousin, niece and colleague.

Anna Grace was loved by many of the people here today. Most of you can attest that Anna was a joyful and happy person who spread cheer everywhere she went. She took genuine interest in people and interacted with everybody freely and respectfully regardless of their social standing.

In her work, Anna spent alot of her time with rural farmers in the most vulnerable communities where she used her skills as a veterinarian to help improve their livelihoods. Because of her commitment to her work, plus the love and care of the people in the communities she worked with, she was hugely popular among the farmers in whose communities she served.

Anna Grace was also a passionate storyteller – a gift she shared with the world through her social media platforms and on her blog. In person, she was talkative, jolly and enjoyed casual banter. She also loved to engage in deep, meaningful conversations whenever the occasion presented itself, including with strangers. It was this, plus her generally open personality that made her effective in creating and building friendships.

Anna Grace cared for the hearts of others. She loved to share the burdens of the hurting and to comfort them. Even when she had struggles of her own, she often put them aside to care for the needs of others. It was thus difficult to know when she was carrying heavy burdens of her own. Many of us who were close to her knew this about her and therefore strove to care for her when we knew she had forgotten to do this for herself.

It is important for this gathering to know that even when Anna Grace often appeared vivacious; with overflowing confidence and joy, she also doubted herself a lot and both feared and avoided the overwhelm of external adulation. She thus withdrew frequently, in silence, to sit with herself and enjoy the simplicity of just being.

As a matter of fact, Anna Grace was a simple person, yet at the same time, she held herself to a strict code of personal values. Thus while she loved to challenge the status quo, she was equally afraid to live too much outside the bounds of convention. This was the never ending paradox of her life that both baffled and fascinated many; and was, for her, the cause of immense personal anguish.

Anna Grace often said that she wanted to live simply and unadorned. To a large extent, she did. In fact, this aspect of her, we can correctly guess, was the one that made her relatable to many. It was, one might say, the secret ingredient of her interactions with others. Once titles and other superficialities were stripped away, the common humanity by which we are all plagued could then take the center stage- and what harmony, to learn that we are all in fact, the same. In this existence, she thrived.

Anna Grace was deep and authentic, and she admired and sought out these qualities in others.

There is a lot to say about this young woman who was our daughter, niece, cousin, friend, and colleague, yet we will always remember Anna Grace for her deep love for people, her hearty laugh, and her inspired living. We will remember her for her resilience, and will always hold her up as an example of what it means to love and care for one another.

Anna Grace is survived by her brother, mother and father.