I am so very sad to hear about this. I was Jom’s occupational therapist at Talbot Hill Elementary School and he was so often the highlight of my day. His big smile, and big heart, and big energy were a delight (and sometimes a challenge!) He was such a joy to work with. I remember so well the time he said to me: “When I grow up I’m gonna take care of you. I’m going to build you a house and give you Cheetos.”  ❤️ What a sweetheart. 

I’m so very sorry for your—and all of our—loss. 

I remember when I first started hanging out with Jom, my god, he cursed so much. He told me that he cursed because he loved listening to the explicit versions of songs. Since he was so young , I suggested to him that he should listen to the non-explicit versions to limit his exposure to curse words. He started to accept that cursing wasn’t always socially acceptable and tried to change how he spoke. In the middle of a conversation, he dropped an “f” bomb. I’ll be honest, it was sometimes funny when he cursed. As I was trying not to laugh, he apologized repeatedly and explained that sometimes his mind just likes to curse.

I told him that it was okay because we are all learning and sometimes we have to learn things that we don’t want to even if our minds tell us otherwise.

He replied with “yeah.. I’m trying to be a better person”. And in that moment, I sensed his longing to become a version of himself that he deemed as “better”.

And I hope he knew that cursing bore no weight on his value as a person.

He was one of the best people I knew and I think a lot of people would agree with me. He did something that a lot of people spend their whole lives trying do — he figured out how to live life according to his true, authentic self. He always knew what he wanted and was determined to get it, even to a fault. He enjoyed his life through the songs he listened to, movies that captivated him, and pizzas eaten surrounded by the people he loved and who loved him too. He was a better person because he was honest with himself on the things he liked and lived accordingly.

Jomuel taught us so much with his fourteen years on earth. Now we all have to learn how to do something we don’t want to do, which is learn how to carry on with our lives without him. 

May his life serve as a reminder to all of us to live honestly with ourselves — to understand ourselves so well that we curate our time on earth to be filled with the people we love, things we want to do, and places we want to see so that we, too, can deeply enjoy our lives the way Jom has. 

I’ll miss you Jom.

Say hi to Avicii and Chadwick for me.

Wakanda Forever.