Reisa (Hall) Faller used her Facebook account to post a memory of Heather. We decided to post it here as well as a tribute to Heather's legacy and her variety of interests in life.
Note from Reisa: This is from the Brighton Barb. I have the actual paper, but couldn't attach it. I kept it because I felt it was a great article. Heather had a great voice. This is what she wrote.....
"I am, you are, we, are the last graduating Bengals of the century. Is that what defines me? Am I just a Bengal? I hope not. I was a Bengal for three years. I have been a student for thirteen, and have been Heather Aron Gross for eighteen years. But, who am I?
Who are you? What defines you? Is it a stereotype? Don't let it be. Wake up in the morning and think, "What stereotypes am I going to break today?" or "Against what label should I rebel?" So, who are you?
Are you a car with a boyfriend and some clothes? Maybe you have a musical preference and a snowboard. I know; you are that girl who uses three bottles of hair spray every day and laughs like a horse. Just Kidding. I don't know her. I do know that people are too complicated to categorize. I'm a sister and a daughter, a friend and a mentor. I am an individual.
We aren't Generation X, nor Generation Next. We are a generation of individuals. How much have times changed? We assume a parent will love a child born retarded. Would you love a child born gay? Can you predict that reaction?
Don't limit yourself. Leave some space between college, your mission, maybe that bar you're going to own and operate, and your married life as a parent and an adult, for your dreams. Do what you love. I KNOW that Europe and running are in my future.
Find something you believe. Forget your inhibitions. I'm not saying, "Don't stop at any more red lights," but I bet you don't even know that some of those dreams exist because all you have ever let yourself be was a golfing basketball player with a turtle named Joe. So, who are you?
Perhaps you have been a runner your whole life. Don't forget to walk sometimes. Maybe you have been with someone so long that he or she has begun to define you. I thought I was my boyfriend's other half until I realized I couldn't breathe. Hey, maybe you HAVE found your soul mate. You can still dream. You can still be a Bengal. Just, be yourself for yourself, before you are defined by what you're not.
Y, para Ustedes que hablan Espanol, FELICITACIONES!
CONGRATULATIONS!
Don't forget, you will always be a BENGAL.
-Heather Aron Gross
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