November 12, 2019
I am overwhelmingly saddened by Michelle's absence. Grief is unpredictable and difficult, with feelings of anguish, sorrow, despair. One feeling that has been constant for me, however, is a deep sense of gratitude. As sad as I am to learn of Michelle's passing, I am incredibly lucky and privileged to have known Michelle at all. Like so many others, Michelle taught me many things in our short time together. The way she pursued her passions was, and will continue to be, a model after which I strive to live my own life.
This summer, I was lucky enough to be a stop on her post-graduation tour. We climbed the Grand Teton via the full exum with goals of a grandstand traverse, and due to our unfamiliarity with the area, some bad weather, and undeniably, our ambition, we spent a total of 36 nonstop hours on the mountain together. I went all of college without pulling any all-nighters, and together, Michelle and I pulled two consecutively. From reading the other stories, I've noticed a pattern: Michelle would get so excited before big objectives that sleep was never a concern, and often, she'd reason that "We're not going to sleep well anyway, let's just start tonight!" Despite that undeniably being one of the most physically enduring experiences I've ever had, it also ranks among the most fun and most memorable. Michelle knew how to get serious, and we had to a couple of times, but she was laughing and cracking jokes 98% of the trip. I had a smile plastered on my face, even as we suffered together. Afterwords, we ate multiple plates of Mexican food, slept for 18 hours, and ate another round of hole-in-the-wall Mexican food.
In DC, we had a tradition of getting Korean BBQ on snow days. We both didn't like sitting still, so obviously, when the weather isn't good for much of anything, we would commiserate by eating some really good food. And lots of it. I enjoyed these meals as much as I enjoyed our outings, she was a wonderfully intelligent and fascinating person, and conversing with her was a joy. I remember one particularly snowy day, we drove an hour to eat Korean bbq, and afterwords, she turns to me and says: "so, I'm not hungry now, but I will be when we get back. Wanna make coffee cake?"
Michelle continually pushed me to be the best version of my self. She just had that effect on you, y'know? Here was a woman pushing herself to continually one-up herself and having the best time doing it, it was almost impossible not to follow suit. She was the epitome of leading by example. I am so honored and blessed to have spent time in the light that she was, and I take comfort in seeing that so many people were touched by her as well. I am privileged to help carry on her legacy, even if that is simply by trying to live the best life I can while positively affecting as many people as I can. I miss you Michelle. My heart goes out to the Xue family. Thank you for the light that was Michelle.
And finally: Thank you, Michelle.
This summer, I was lucky enough to be a stop on her post-graduation tour. We climbed the Grand Teton via the full exum with goals of a grandstand traverse, and due to our unfamiliarity with the area, some bad weather, and undeniably, our ambition, we spent a total of 36 nonstop hours on the mountain together. I went all of college without pulling any all-nighters, and together, Michelle and I pulled two consecutively. From reading the other stories, I've noticed a pattern: Michelle would get so excited before big objectives that sleep was never a concern, and often, she'd reason that "We're not going to sleep well anyway, let's just start tonight!" Despite that undeniably being one of the most physically enduring experiences I've ever had, it also ranks among the most fun and most memorable. Michelle knew how to get serious, and we had to a couple of times, but she was laughing and cracking jokes 98% of the trip. I had a smile plastered on my face, even as we suffered together. Afterwords, we ate multiple plates of Mexican food, slept for 18 hours, and ate another round of hole-in-the-wall Mexican food.
In DC, we had a tradition of getting Korean BBQ on snow days. We both didn't like sitting still, so obviously, when the weather isn't good for much of anything, we would commiserate by eating some really good food. And lots of it. I enjoyed these meals as much as I enjoyed our outings, she was a wonderfully intelligent and fascinating person, and conversing with her was a joy. I remember one particularly snowy day, we drove an hour to eat Korean bbq, and afterwords, she turns to me and says: "so, I'm not hungry now, but I will be when we get back. Wanna make coffee cake?"
Michelle continually pushed me to be the best version of my self. She just had that effect on you, y'know? Here was a woman pushing herself to continually one-up herself and having the best time doing it, it was almost impossible not to follow suit. She was the epitome of leading by example. I am so honored and blessed to have spent time in the light that she was, and I take comfort in seeing that so many people were touched by her as well. I am privileged to help carry on her legacy, even if that is simply by trying to live the best life I can while positively affecting as many people as I can. I miss you Michelle. My heart goes out to the Xue family. Thank you for the light that was Michelle.
And finally: Thank you, Michelle.