My dearest friend of the soul. The first time we saw each other was at a meeting at our children’s school. I remember that, from the very first moment, I noticed her — always smiling, with those bright, shining eyes. That was about six years ago. It’s true that it wasn’t a lifelong friendship, but for me, it was so important and so deep that I will never be able to forget her.
Little by little, day by day, our friendship grew stronger — to the point that, whenever something happened to me, I needed to turn to her and her advice… Without a doubt, she was the best person to go to. Anyone who had the privilege of knowing her — because, without a doubt, it was a gift to have known and shared time with her — will agree with me that she was the best listener and always ready to help.
She had a gift for seeing the qualities in every person. Where others would only see the negative or the flaws in someone, she saw their strengths.
Personally, she made me a better person. She taught me to be more kind, to see the positive side of things, to try to build a better world within our means. She always used to say:
“If someone hurts you, don’t repay them with harm; speak to them with respect and from a place of love, because even if you think it won’t matter, maybe if they see that you don’t react the same way, it will help them do better the next time they face a similar situation.”
She believed that if you act with goodness toward others — even if they hurt you in the moment — your kindness would help them become better… Maybe not right away, but it would help them in the future.
That was a way of thinking that, before meeting her, I had never even considered — because I had been raised with a mindset focused on ego and self. That’s not to say that my parents raised me badly — but without a doubt, she taught me to be better.
So, from my humble and simple humanity, I will continue trying to be a better person — for her and because she firmly believed in creating a better world by being better people.
If there’s one thing I could share with the world about Hoda, it’s that everything she did came from love and was done with all her passion — and her works are, without a doubt, a reflection of that.