Letter to the Editor: What Ahsim Ahmed Meant to Me

Ahsim Ahmed was an 18-year-old young man killed in a fatal car accident on March 17, 2012. This is the news that everyone is hearing about him, and that his mother described him as “a bright boy with lots of friends.” There is so much more to this young man that could ever fit into a newspaper article. My name is Gregory Hunter Freebeck, but I go by Hunter. I am 19 years old and I am from the south suburbs of Chicago Illinois. I graduated from Lemont High School and am attending the University of Iowa, as well as 10 of my good friends from my hometown.

Coming into school, I thought I wouldn’t need to meet anyone new, because I had all of my friends from home here. One day I heard a kid across the hall from me playing [music from] Eminem and I thought I would make a new friend. The kid turned out to be Ahsim Ahmed.

Ahsim was a short, skinny, Muslim kid with glasses. Ahsim and I started to talk little by little, to the point where we became great friends. Such great friends that we traded roommates in order for us to live together. I play lacrosse for the university, but whenever I wasn’t occupied with that, I was with Ahsim. We were both studying pre-dental, and ended up taking a lot of classes so we could be together. In his free time, Ahsim loved to record music and rap. Ahsim has a shoebox filled with assortments of paper from tests to receipts with rap lyrics written on them. At college, I get the vibe that a lot of kids like to go out and party, and also consume alcohol; I am one of those people myself, to be honest. Ahsim was not like that. No matter how hard someone would try to convince him to drink he just wouldn’t. His excuse was, why drink something gross so I can feel stupid? Ahsim liked to go out with his friends, but the dedication to his music was unbelievable.

Non-stop, he would be recording or making beats or writing lyrics. I’ve never seen determination like that before in my life. Always, Ahsim would talk about getting famous, and what would happen once that goal was achieved. “The first thing I would do once I get signed, is pay my parents back for everything they have done for me,” he said.

Ahsim would do whatever it’d take in order to achieve that goal. He has told me, he doesn’t want to study dentistry, in order for him to be happy, he had to have a career in music. Away from the music, Ahsim was a brilliant student. I’m not going to lie, since we were in the same class, I would always copy off of Ahsim. If I ever needed help, he was there for me. And not just me, Ahsim would help anybody with anything.

Ahsim also had the busiest schedule. He was either at class or work non-stop. His persistency was amazing as well. If he did not like the food that he received at Chipotle, the owners were going to hear about it. He always knew a lot of business tactics that have helped me along the road as well. I felt like Ahsim and I were a married couple. We would always have our arguments, but in the end, we were still like brothers. I’m going to miss having intense conversations with him on current issues like gay marriage. We were attached to the hip, and were always with each other.

I really ended up spending less time with my hometown friends and sticking with Ahsim. I was really excited because we were both going to be dentists, which could lead to us being lifelong friends. Ahsim opened up to us a lot about how he really cared about our other best friend here, Christian Cervantes, who also had the passion for music. If I were to ever not be with Ahsim, he would be with Christian.

Ahsim, Christian, and I were a trio of best friends and lovers of music. Ahsim actually introduced me to Christian, who has turned out to be one of my best friends as well. All of us came together and grew a relationship that was one of a kind. Once Ahsim had passed, Christian and I were brought so much closer together, and formed a goal. Ahsim would not want us to give up on music just because he is gone, but to pursue his goal with even more determination, for him.

Another hobby Ahsim had was playing video games. Ahsim was obsessed with the game ‘Halo Reach’, and would never stop playing it. It was always funny for me to lie on my bed and watch him get worked up over the video game. Some one would kill him in the game and Ahsim would get very mad and yell, while I just sat there and laughed. A lot of things Ahsim would say incorporated the word ‘trying’ in it. For example, “ Yo, are you trying to eat?”

Then Christian and I would say that we are not trying to eat, we are going to eat. Why would we need to try? Another popular saying of his was “That’s what I’m saying,” even though he hadn’t contributed to the conversation. We would always joke and tease each other and it really made our relationship strong. Going on break was tough too. I never really saw my best friend over winter and spring break.

However, I would get the occasional text from Ahsim like “ I miss you cutie :P” and I couldn’t help but laugh. Ahsim was a very chill and laid-back guy. A lot of people saw him as quiet, but they obviously didn’t know him like we did. When leaving for spring break, I didn’t really get to say a very formal goodbye to him, in which I very much regret. Over the break we only sent a few text messages, which were about music.

The day after the accident, I had gotten a call from our hall coordinator at the dorms saying she needs to talk to me. Immediately I started freaking out because I thought I had gotten in trouble for something. I then texted Ahsim wondering if he had gotten the same call. There was no response, so I checked his Facebook profile, and that is when I found out about the horrible news. I had lost one of my best friends for life, my roommate. I couldn’t believe that this had happened to him, of all people. I couldn’t cry for a while because I was in so much shock. Once I saw my mom cry, I couldn’t help but let it all out.

Everyday, I still continue to shed tears for my lost best friend. When I walked into our room, returning from spring break, everything just felt heavy. All of his stuff was still there, including his favorite hat and jacket. I couldn’t help but break down crying. Everyday I get support from friends and see all the support given to Ahsim, and it makes me so happy. I now feel that Ahsim is here, and that he is watching over me. I feel weird, because I do talk to him, like he is still here. But spiritually, Ahsim is here watching over us. People feel scared to walk into my room, but I tell them not to be. My room is so happy because Ahsim is with us.

Ahsim wants us all to be happy; he would never try and scare us like a ghost. He was the closest person I have ever lost in my life, and I love him like a brother. Ahsim will be missed by so many people who were blessed to have crossed paths with him.

This is how I believe this news article should be written. Ahsim needs to be
remembered as a man for the things he has accomplished and dreamed, not for the accident. I am still waiting for him to come walking in the door, but until then, I love and miss you man.

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