Eulogy - For Rasheem Civil

“The fear of death follows from the fear of life. A man who lives fully is prepared to die at any time.” Some people believe that there are more than two ways to fulfill happiness and sadness. However, I believe that there are only two ways for the expression of feelings. One is happiness and the other is sadness. For those who knew Rasheem, they may see him as just a person. Due to his short life span, the person who I grew to know as a young man dreamt of many successes. But his feelings, motivations, accomplishments, achievements, and himself as a person are what I greatly admire about him.

When I first met Rasheem it was on a basketball court. That was when I realized that he was a big fan of Ray Allen and so was I. From that day on I took a special interest in him because of the loneliness that we shared. As we grew together I learned many things about Rasheem, as much as he learned about me. He appeared to be very pleased and quiet at times and he seemed to be in a slight depressive state most of the times.

My most missed memory with Rasheem was senior prom of 2006. I still remember when he had asked me to have the last dance with him. I never saw him so peaceful. It was a night that we both wish could have never ended. During the times we spent together we shared some private secrets with each other. I learned that he had no family or relatives that he could depend on. This isolation reminds me of myself three years ago. He mentioned the struggle that he endured daily, the frustrations, the pain, the loneliness, the abandonment, and the courage that prevented him from failing.

He will be greatly missed and I will never forget him as long as I live. There are only a handful of people that walk into your life and change it forever. He had a great effect on me but due to his life being cut short he couldn’t become the man he is destined to be. The most valuable times that we spent together were when I learned about his experiences of sadness. It was the first time that I had met a young adult who actually explained his anger, his depression, and his ambition to learn.

Rasheem was abandoned by his parents at the age of 11. That was when he started to do odd jobs in the neighborhood and he slept in cars for survival. He worked two jobs while he was in high school. He still managed to stay in school on his own and that’s the passion that drove me into his life. With the help of a friend from one of the odd jobs that he had worked offered him a place to stay. This is one of the reasons why this poem reminds me of my best friend:

“God saw he was at his happiest and
Someone would not let that be
So he put his arms around him and whispered
Come with me
With tear filled eyes I watched him
Suffer and fade away. Although I
Love him deeply. I could not
Make him stay
A golden heart stopped beating
Hard working hands put to rest
God broke my heart to prove to me
He only takes the best!”


Rasheem knew God exists but because he struggled so much he had doubts of whether or not he should believe in him. In spite, of all this, he never stopped trying, and he achieved some of his greatest desires. He graduated from 8th grade, from 12th grade, and he was actively enrolled in college before he passed. My friend Rasheem, I will always admire and I will always respect his dignity and his passion for learning, and his motivation for life.