Felix Riaga Odera, R.I.P (1987-2011)

"On Sunday evening of 29th-May-2011, Felix Riaga fell off a dock and drowned in lake Kawkawa in the Municipality of Hope, British Columbia, Canada......"

These words stand out bold and meaningful right before my teary eyes.
Unable to understand or grasp what actually happened, i'm taken back in shock with a bunch of open ended questions mostly beginning with "Why"?! hoping to be heard but silently knowing that  i'll never have the answers..

This  mattered to me more than just another piece of drowning news i see on tv  because i knew Felix personally more than just an individual that studied here at UBC. Felix was one of the cheerful people i came across while here in UBC. I met him in my first year and ever since then we've been friends and in my final year i saw much more of him because we both lived off campus and we would take either Bus #41, 480 or 49 to get home as he lived 5 minutes away from me. I saw him much more and our conversations were always the happiest talking about life in general, how he was going home soon, about his soccer games, training, and his classes and work...I clearly remember him telling me how he was studying South East Asian Politics and how he was proud to know me from Bhutan as they had just discussed it in class...

Hearing this news two days ago at the Library, i was in complete dis belief and i still am at this moment thinking "this can't be true"...Why him of all the people, he was going for a religious camp on top of that and they say he drowned with 5-6 people around him? i still can't seem to connect the dots of what and where it went wrong!! 
well the most sad part is that the news his family would have to bear as they haven't seen him since he came here to UBC and he was planning on visiting them either this summer or end of this year... someone put on this facebook page "R.I.P you are home now"...and that touched me!

I know you are no longer here with us Felix, but i hope wherever you are at this moment you realize what a difference you have made to all the lives you have touched in your own little or big ways...You have paved way for those who would like to see themselves as a potential in achieving something greater in life by being their example as you say "anything is possible"...

The gentleness of your soul, the constant optimism felt, the humane personality, the role model you set out as, the strength you found in religion and the inspiration you turned out to be...

You will never be forgotten in our hearts!!!Rest In Peace~