In Memory of Kim

Eulogy by Ronald Pineda

The writer and humanist Virginia Woolf once said, "You cannot find peace by avoiding life." Kimberly Rosario Perez lived out that quote: she was loud, rebellious and never settled for anything less than a life brimming with experiences and overflowing with memories. Kim was always the most thoughtful and effervescent presence in the room; she also supplied the most intensely thought-provoking late-night conversations. While topics typically varied, they never strayed too far from one central theme: how one can improve the world. Kim was a force, who never shrank when faced with seemingly insurmountable adversity, who always tackled it head-on, fearless as to who would come out the victor

I always marveled at Kim's uncanny ability to never fully grasp her own limitations. Because of that, she easily traveled beyond our world's clearly mapped borders, heading always closer to uncharted territory. Once passionate about an issue, she almost always became its staunchest and strongest voice. As a freshman at UC Santa Cruz, she took the activist community by storm, asking quite simply what an activist is, because to her there was always more to activism than placing a progressive button on one's messenger bag or wearing a Che Guevara t-shirt on one's back. Activism was always about action: what the individual can do to help resolve any situation. It continues to amaze me what a remarkable individual and activist she became.

From the first the time we met, I was instantly drawn to the passion with which Kim searched for truth and understanding in our world. For her, this came naturally, as if it were part her of DNA. Yet she never approached any one issue or problem as the solver or leader. Rather, she always played the role of the learner first, quietly understanding all the pieces of the puzzle before inserting herself where she thought she could make the most impact. It should come as no surprise then that, eventually, she was at every rally, protest and sit-in on campus.

The tragedy in Kim's untimely passing is that she never saw her accomplishments in full. Because she was never one to sit comfortably, she never basked in the glory of her past. No. She understood the privileges afforded her - to be able to attain a masters and doctoral degree - and kept moving forward: they were just the mere starting point to a longer journey ahead. Kim always kept both eyes toward the future, always thinking of the world as it could be, if only the posturing and scarcity of hope could end and the acting and realization of our own collective humanity could begin. And she never failed to plan what her role would be in helping to make that lasting change.

In death, Kim leaves us with a call to action, not necessarily to take up where her journey ended or to live life retracing her steps, but to think more critically about our own role in the world, to ask ourselves what issues we're most concerned about and to do something about them. Kim already showed us that one person can indeed make a difference. In death, she has passed on the challenge to us all: to breathe in more air, to seek out new experiences, to be truer to ourselves. In short, to be the leaders we were all born to be.

In some West African cultures, it is said that time of mourning is followed almost immediately by a celebration of a life that might have been, had circumstances and outcomes been different. I would like to continue this West African tradition in honoring Kim, because it was in Africa where she blossomed into adulthood. And it is its land and peoples that answered her calling.

"Wanting Memories," by Sweet Honey in the Rock

I am sitting here wanting memories to teach me
to see the beauty in the world through my own eyes.
I am sitting here wanting memories to teach me
to see the beauty in the world through my own eyes.

You used to rock me in the cradle of your arms.
You said you'd hold me till the pains of life were gone.
You said you'd comfort me in times like these and now I need you.

Now I need you, and you are gone.
I am sitting here wanting memories to teach me
to see the beauty in the world through my own eyes.
Since you've gone and left me, there's been so little beauty,
But I know I saw it clearly through your eyes.

Now the world outside is such a cold and bitter place.

Here inside I have few things that will console.
And when I try to hear your voice above the storms of life,
Then I remember all the things that I was told.

I am sitting here wanting memories to teach me
to see the beauty in the world through my own eyes.
I am sitting here wanting memories to teach me
to see the beauty in the world through my own eyes.

I think on the things that made me feel so wonderful when I was young.
I think on the things that made me laugh, made me dance, made me sing.
I think on the things that made me grow into a being full of pride.
I think on these things, for they are truth.

I am sitting here wanting memories to teach me
to see the beauty in the world through my own eyes.
I thought that you were gone, but now I know you're with me.