Around 2 years ago my grandma from my mom's side passed away on May 17, 2022. This month on May 20, 2024 my last and only grandmother (Mak yey) passed away peacefully in the comfort of her residential home. My grandmother was a pure, gentle, kind soul who was always the guided light, throughout dark times. 🕊🙏🕯 My grandmother, she was not only a grandmother she had history. She was a survival and a mother of 8 children and out of 8 children 4 amongst survived during the genocide war in Cambodia. During her last moment my dad was telling me stories about how my grandmother, a devoted Buddhists monk along with my grandfather who died before the genocide was also a monk and a devoted teacher who taught philosophy and also, teaches the buddhism ways. Growing up, i had to struggle in learning about my self-identities in ways I would not understand how I was different in elementary school and kids would called me "Chinese" and I would be so confuse and asking myself how am I chinese? and I remember during high-school days. I've learnt about my roots while interviewing my father and in learning this, I was in shock because not only my dad came from a massacre of genocide war during the Khmer Rouge regime it made me understand what he had to go through. I was wondering how is my dad not sharing his stories to the world and also how did he even handle his trauma. I remember I felt it was a tragic because I've learnt as a kid about the history of the Jewish holocaust and wondering at the same time why am i learning about how to pray to Jesus Christ during elementary school. But overtime I've learn and knowing how much my father, is truly a resilient man with good self-less intention who would do anything for his family. Who had survived a genocidal war and came to Canada with nothing on him and how much of a true good son he is towards my grandmother while doing deeds towards the Buddhist temple. As a child I was never taught of the Buddhism ways but i was "dragged" in the temple and learning bits of it (still i am) and learning some alphabets and wished i learned more. Until I've grown curious towards my culture and slowly I asked questions and ask my father and being an observant that i am. It made me explore other religion and comparing buddhism similarities in other religion. Also the fact growing up in an Italian community, made me tough. I made many multi-cultural friends and learn and grown to respect other peoples differences, religion and cultures. It made me proud of the woman I've become and made me understand the nature of things and just enjoying simplicities. It made me learn alot about who I am in my own enigma ways. It made me feel unique in my own authentic ways. It made me love myself alot more. Knowing my grandmother was well known and respected in many people's eyes made me proud of how much I can accomplish many things in life and just discovered in how I am, being able to balanced my light side along with my dark side where both can't survive with one another but has to work things out instead of fighting one another. Being surrounded by people who cares about me and bringing out positivity towards my life and being able to help people for them to discovered in knowing how to fight off their demons and accepting that not everyone's traumas are not the same and everyone handles it differently but in having the discovery in mental capacities of calmness in finding the peace within. My grandmother will truly be the true matriarchy in my eyes and I am truly happy being born into the buddhism ways and "awake" and still learning about it till the end. May she rest her soul in true peace in great memories in bringing out the light in everyone's lives.