As you know, I have lost someone dear to me very recently.
Sometimes, it’s really hard for me to reconcile how life turns out. Like, why does someone who has dedicated more than 25 years to making this world a better place and fought for inequalities to be righted have their life cut short, while people who wish and seek to do harm live out longer lives? But such is life. It is not my job or duty to understand such things. Instead, it is my job to be thankful for the honor it was to know and love a person with such purpose, passion, honor, and dignity—qualities that have forever shaped the way I carry life forward.
It is 12:13 a.m. as I write this, and it’s still hard to accept that I won’t ever receive another text back, another hug, or hear “I love you” one last time. A couple of months back, I had the feeling I needed to visit her in her office and tell her I loved her for the first time—and I did. It happened the day after the election when I needed her comfort and familiar presence as she fought her whole life to leave this world a better place for everyone. She was real in the way she served, and her signature line was, “Let me know how I can help.” It never failed.
When the visit came to an end, I told her we loved her, as my son and I gathered ourselves. I remember it took her by surprise. She walked us to the front door of the building, and the last words she spoke to me in person were, “I love you, …” And I told her I loved her too. That was the last time I saw her.
I miss her and wish I could have seen her once more, but I know things are better this way. Sometimes, we can’t always fill in the gaps of why things happen the way they do, but we know they happen for reasons beyond our comprehension and explanation.
The Private Investment Fund
The fund now sits at $1,520.57 at the time of this writing. There are 28.353 shares of Kenvue on the balance sheet and 6.29 shares of Nike. My initial goal for Kenvue was 25 shares, which I began accumulating in June of last year. I just bought the 28th share this month after seeing a drop back down to $20 per share. My goal for Nike is just 10 shares for now. I suppose by summer, I will have either just reached it or surpassed it.
It feels a bit weird talking about finance and investing while grieving, but it’s a comforting fact that the person dear to me also loved reading the updates I’d provide on the private fund, even though she wasn’t an investor.
College
I’ll be graduating soon—just a couple more months, and I’ll officially be a college graduate. There isn’t much to update here other than that I don’t plan to walk on stage. I’d rather collect my diploma through the mail and spend a day with the teenager, reflecting on the journey.
Plans for This Blog
I’ll continue to write here for the time being. I don’t see myself going anywhere anytime soon. This blog started as a way to document my thoughts on finance and the building of the private investment fund. It has since become more than that—an outlet to collect and gather my thoughts while providing value wherever I can.
2025 has been a rough start, but it doesn’t have to end this way. It will be interesting to look back here a year from now and see how the year played out.
With that said, I’ll write soon.
P.S. There are two scores that capture the feeling of this period in my life: Emile Mosseri’s Jacob and the Stone, which captures the personal pain, and Craig Armstrong’s Total Agony, which reflects the broader agony but beauty of what she left behind. Here is one of them…
The Broke College Student 
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