By Kelly Perry
A Letter to Sams’K (with photos)
Dear Sams’K,
Thank you for being an inspiration to me. I will never forget your words, “Our first religion should be love,” and will continue to live with service and love for others as the core of who I am. Throughout the interview that my classmates and I conducted with you, you mentioned that human beings should have confidence in themselves more and really stand up for what they believe in. You are a living example of a person who is ready to fight and die for what he believes in, and that, in my eyes, is the purest definition of bravery and courage. You emphasize that “being a human being” first before being anything else is the most important – how there are many people in the world who are simply living creatures, not stopping to think about what it means to truly be human. Thank you for conveying this message through your songs and through your daily life, Sams’K. You have taught me new, beautiful ways to look at life and are an enlightening reminder to continue following integrity and my core values. I am an aspiring public health servant and wish to devote my life to uplift others and to fight for health equity. Through getting to know you more through your music and your visit at Vanderbilt, I feel invigorated to continue on my path. You said to me that you have been “born in music, grow in music, [and will] die in music,” inspiring me to follow my own ‘innate rhythm,’ to continue standing up for what I believe in, and to uplift others to do the same. Thank you for all that you have done for humanity, Sams’K. I want to end this letter with some photographs I took at Vanderbilt University. I enjoy taking pictures of nature, and I thought that flowers, leaves, and trees – entities that convey hope, creating beauty from the earth with nothing but water, soil, and oxygen – compliment the love for humanity and thirst for justice that you portray in your songs. As in your song “Thomas Sankara,” you inspire youth to not forget their past and the history of their country – to stay rooted, like flowers and trees, in the soil that made them. These images of nature are my small gift to you – a reminder that we are all in this fight for justice and peace together.
Love always,
Kelly Perry
Dear Sams’K,
Thank you for being an inspiration to me. I will never forget your words, “Our first religion should be love,” and will continue to live with service and love for others as the core of who I am. Throughout the interview that my classmates and I conducted with you, you mentioned that human beings should have confidence in themselves more and really stand up for what they believe in. You are a living example of a person who is ready to fight and die for what he believes in, and that, in my eyes, is the purest definition of bravery and courage. You emphasize that “being a human being” first before being anything else is the most important – how there are many people in the world who are simply living creatures, not stopping to think about what it means to truly be human. Thank you for conveying this message through your songs and through your daily life, Sams’K. You have taught me new, beautiful ways to look at life and are an enlightening reminder to continue following integrity and my core values. I am an aspiring public health servant and wish to devote my life to uplift others and to fight for health equity. Through getting to know you more through your music and your visit at Vanderbilt, I feel invigorated to continue on my path. You said to me that you have been “born in music, grow in music, [and will] die in music,” inspiring me to follow my own ‘innate rhythm,’ to continue standing up for what I believe in, and to uplift others to do the same. Thank you for all that you have done for humanity, Sams’K. I want to end this letter with some photographs I took at Vanderbilt University. I enjoy taking pictures of nature, and I thought that flowers, leaves, and trees – entities that convey hope, creating beauty from the earth with nothing but water, soil, and oxygen – compliment the love for humanity and thirst for justice that you portray in your songs. As in your song “Thomas Sankara,” you inspire youth to not forget their past and the history of their country – to stay rooted, like flowers and trees, in the soil that made them. These images of nature are my small gift to you – a reminder that we are all in this fight for justice and peace together.
Love always,
Kelly Perry
