A Night of Reflection: Honoring Legacies and Finding Purpose

On Saturday, we attended an Iftar charity function. To be honest, I wasn’t too keen on going, but I went anyway. I didn’t know much about the cause beforehand, only that it was in support of the Sonia Shah Foundation. What I didn’t realize was how deeply this evening would resonate with me. Sonia Shah was an American Pakistani student with an unshakable determination to uplift women in a small village in Pakistan. She had grown up hearing stories from her grandmother about how girls in her ancestral village remained uneducated and were married off as young as twelve. Instead of simply sympathizing, Sonia took action. She traveled to the village and lived there for 6 weeks, adapting to the harsh living conditions without a single complaint. She returned to the U.S. with a vision—she wanted to start a school to educate the girls who had been denied the right to learn. But at just 18 years old, tragedy struck. Sonia lost her life in a car accident in Chicago. Her mother, rather than allowing grief to consume her, chose to honor Sonia’s dream. She took it upon herself to build the school Sonia had envisioned, ensuring that her daughter’s legacy lived on. As I watched the video about Sonia, I couldn’t help but see reflections of Sana in her story. Sana, too, felt strongly about women’s empowerment. She was always vocal about social justice, about uplifting those who were marginalized. The passion, the drive, the selflessness—Sana and Sonia shared so many qualities. It was both heartbreaking and inspiring. After the presentation, I approached Sonia’s mother, hugged her, and commended her strength in carrying out her daughter’s dream. We exchanged words that only grieving mothers could truly understand—grief doesn’t just break you, it reshapes you. At that dinner, I also met another couple who had lost their child. Grief has an uncanny way of connecting people, forming an unspoken bond between those who understand loss in its deepest form. That night, I came back with a promise to myself. If Sonia’s mother could turn her loss into something meaningful, so could I. I don’t yet know what form it will take, but I know that I want to honor Sana’s legacy—her kindness, her passion, her unwavering fight for what she believed in. Sana’s story is not over. I will make sure of that.