When someone dies who has been a major hub in a social network, it's like the essence of that persons work stands out clearer. Such a person passed away this Saturday.
I had the honour of meeting her for the first time a little less than a month ago. As a SLP student I wanted to know a bit about how Second Life could make things possible that was otherwise Not Possible In Real Life (NPIRL) for people who has suffered from aphasia after a stroke. The Sojourner, or Soj, was in my eyes one of the best experts in the area, since she as a multiple stroke survivor and Speech Language Practitioner knew aphasia from both sides.
Even though she was busy, she took her time to talk to me, a total stranger. We talked for a couple of hours, and what stands out now, is her wish... 'I would really like to see SLP’s come into SL and learn about it and its pros and cons'.
Second Life really has a potential for everyday magic... and Soj was, as another friend put it, 'pulling rabbits out of the hat every day'.
You can visit her memorial at Dreams, light candles and make donations for the project.
2 had something to say:
"Nothings Lasts .. but Nothing is Lost", keeping the best from our experiences is the best way to have people we like in our hearts.
What you wrote is very true: Her death has brought out all this stuff together that previously was just her. Now it's out in the open and you can see from the messages and tributes, some of the stuff she did and what she meant.
It's the first time I've been to a virtual memorial for a friend and I found it very moving, for all it's chaos, it was very 'SL' :)
Soj was probably the first person I met in Second Life who really impressed me... someone who really saw the vast potential of virtual worlds in human terms. I really hope her work can continue and the community she built is strong enough to carry on without her.
Her take on it probably influenced me more than I was aware at the time as a noob... who was still unsure about this whole thing. For her, I think it was all about dreaming and how that can set us free to learn.
Her profile says it all:
John Prototype: the brain is basically a biological computer. sometimes it locks up, sometimes it reboots, and everyone is running a slightly different operating system.
Soj adds: And that is what dreams are made of.
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