Area 77

There is a time in your life when you meet someone who will change your ways, someone who will make you appreciate things not only for what they are but for their inner meaning. It was Snookie who opened an honorable way of life for me.

She opened this path for many people; for this reason Snookie was such an appropriate name for such a great woman. Snookie in the Arabic language is translated as “The righteous path.” The meaning of her name was evident in her everyday life. Not only did her hair look like the sun, but she herself was like the sun; her energy was absorbed by all those who were around her.

Although Snookie and I did not know each other for a long time, the time that we shared together was more exceptional, better yet more real than anything I had ever experienced before. Time is such a funny thing. Most people would say that the more time you have the better. I believe that you don’t need more time to really know someone. It is the quality of the time that you share together that is the most important factor. The time that Snookie and I shared was in deed short; however, our friendship was unlike any other friendship in the world.

Snookie wouldn’t want us to mourn or cry because she is gone. She would want us to celebrate her life to the fullest and treat her death as if it were a death of a celebrity. Obviously her sense of humor was paralleled by no one. I remember when Snookie had a really bad cold and to stop her nose from running she stuffed a large piece of Kleenex up her nose. When we were out in public we had forgotten that the Kleenex was still sticking out her nose. We noticed that many people were staring at us, but instead of taking it out she went along and started yelling out greetings and other random phrases to the people that were staring at her.

As big as a goofball she was she still respected intelligence and tried her best to make use of her favorite quote, a saying from Leonardo da Vinci. It says that “Iron rusts from disuse; water loses its purity from stagnation.. even so does inaction sap the vigor of the mind.”

This brings us to why Snookie chose to be buried here in A-Town instead of her homeland in Kuwait. Her logic is that even though she is not of this country, she is of this earth and the dirt below us belongs to all; a philosophy she adopted from her grandfather.

Snookie was unlike anyone I have ever known. Although we were from different countries and had different customs, remarkably we were not so different at all. It was somewhat weird to me how we become so close so fast; however, I am very thankful that this did happen. My grandma always said that you only need one good friend in the world and you are set for life. I do believe that Snookie was my “one good friend.” I truly have been blessed with having her as my best friend. Although our time together was cut short I still have our memories and I will keep them close to my heart as long as I live.