Who was Claudia?

She was more than just a daughter, sister and friend.

On September 30, 2010 Claudia was fifteen when she completed suicide. Her life was cut short, but as her mother I will attempt to speak for who she was, what she believed in, and how she lived her life. No one knows the true answer of why she is gone, but we do surely know she was loved by many. We, her family, face the grief of not having her in our lives daily. We will not forget.

This is our Claudia.

Claudia was the first born of five children and full of energy since day one! As a toddler Claudia attended UNLV Preschool and as she became older she was a student at various local schools. She took classes in cooking, dance, gymnastics, painting, photography and theater. She played soccer and went to summer camps. During her freshman year at Foothill High School she was on the track team.

Claudia enjoyed watching television comedy shows with the family. The George Lopez Show was one of her favorites. She loved mimicking George's expressions, especially "sasque" and "chaloca". Her younger sisters always tried to copy her, but just didn't quite have the "Claudia Touch".

Shopping was, to say the least, one of Claudia's favorite hobbies! Boy, did Claudia love shopping! She even had an interesting explanation for every purchase, whether in a store or on-line. Claudia especially admired companies supporting humanistic causes. Her favorite shoes were "Toms" because she admired their mission to make a difference in the lives of children.

Claudia loved trying new and exotic foods. As her mother, Claudia was my faithful partner on many food tasting trips. She was the only family member willing and not afraid to try something unfamiliar. She knew that without tasting a new food it would be impossible to know if you liked it or not. On our last outing in China Town we went to try the crawfish at a restaurant mentioned on the Travel Channel. We had a new experience and both really enjoyed that meal! In second grade Claudia even convinced her entire class that hor'dourves and crudités would be the perfect refreshments for their Christmas party… and that's what they had!

Apparently Claudia was usually more of a listener than a talker. She listened to everyone's problems, but no one remembers her voicing her own problems. Claudia believed in providing friendship and trust to those she cared about. My daughter was accepting of others, no matter how they looked externally. She looked always into a person's heart and knew differences make our world interesting, beautiful and colorful. Claudia truly displayed her generous personality by doing things from her heart; her love for people never failed. Unfortunately, she later found how hateful and cruel people could be.

From a very young age Claudia was encouraged to become a unique individual. She even created her own special style by purposely mismatching her clothes and shoes! In high school that became a problem, other teens not accepting her creativity harassed her verbally. Claudia never complained about it at home… simply kept it bottled up inside. A dangerous step to take as a teen, there is a limit to how much anyone can handle alone. Some things need to be shared with others to minimize the pain.

Remember all her vitality, but take heed from Claudia's personal disaster. Please share your feelings, no one should have to handle painful problems alone.

Remember Claudia.