My daughter Sania went to her eternal resting place on November 22, 2022—Thanksgiving Day. A day meant for gratitude, and in a way, that feels fitting. Because despite the deep grief of losing her, gratitude is exactly what she left behind.

Today, on what would have been her 22nd birthday, I reflect on that.

The first paragraph of her obituary sums up Sania’s life so beautifully. For someone who spoke maybe 100 words throughout the early part of her life, she left a legacy that someone like me—who talks too much—can never fully understand.

But being the person on the receiving end of Sania’s life, I couldn’t be more inspired.

It’s been two years and four months since she passed, and even in grief, she still teaches me. Of course, our journey together wasn’t all roses—I distinctly remember falling into depression when she received her first of many medical diagnoses. But even that turned out to be a blessing in disguise.

Sania gave me the gift of seeing the light in everything, even when the darkness felt overwhelming. If you find people who look for the good in life to be annoying, you might hate me for this. Because that’s exactly what she left me with.

Grief is hard. It’s messy. It doesn’t always make sense. But when I think of Sania, I think of how she loved—deeply, purely, without condition. And if I take anything from her, it’s the way she showed me that even in loss, love remains.

She passed on a day dedicated to gratitude, and today, on her birthday, I carry her legacy forward in the same spirit.

She taught me how to live out loud. How to accept, learn, and grow without shame. How to inspire by simply being.

And that’s what I’ll carry with me, always.