Julias Kamwaro Maina saw life as a journey — a journey that could easily lead to hardships.
But unlike many others who dwell on the challenges, Maina faced them head on.
“Life is a puzzle and you can never know what the future holds, and the only way to discover it is to have courage to take the next step,” Julias wrote in an autobiographical essay in September.
Julias’ journey took him from Kenya to the United States where he touched lives and acted with a maturity and compassion that seemed beyond his years. His journey ended early at just 14 years old. Julias, who was a freshman this year, died Oct. 18.
He lived life trying to make the world better for those around him but expecting nothing in return. Someday, he dreamed he would open a hospital in Kenya and provide care for free. He struggled with how to help a student he’d only just met who was being bullied. And through it all, he smiled in a care-free way that affected those around him and obscured the cancer he was fighting.
It’s an attitude he expressed when he first came to the United States.
“ ‘Dad, I’m not coming for opportunities, I’m bringing opportunities,’ ” Julias’ father Samuel Maina remembers his son telling him. “ ‘People say they’re coming for more opportunities, no. You have to bring opportunities.’ ”
For students and teachers who had the chance to get to know Julias, that’s an opportunity they’re grateful for.
“I only knew him for a short time, but he left a large impression on me,” English teacher Matt Stiles said. “Although I was only Julias’ teacher for a couple of months, I am better person for knowing him.”
Life transitions
The students and teachers at Julias’ school in Kenya were upset when they learned he was moving to the United States. The school almost reported his mother to the district office because they thought she was taking him away to another school in Kenya.
“They loved him so much they wouldn’t have let him go because he made an impact on that school,” Connie Maina, Julias’ mother, said.
Julias was determined to come — ready to join his father in the United States and to learn everything he could. Once here, he loved the teachers and students. He never spoke bad of anyone.
“He loved everyone, even when he was young. He could cope with older people, younger [people], kids, everyone. That was how Julias was,” said Julias’ mom, Connie. “It didn’t matter if you were big or you were small or poor or sick, everyone was a friend to Julias.”
Julias was even a friend to strangers.
“In the house we could talk about somebody, me and my daughter, and Julias would come in and say ‘Dad, no. You can’t say that about that person. Just help that person,’” Samuel said. “He showed [love] to everybody and he was really appreciative.”
Cancer found
While playing baseball in April 2011, Julias tripped and fell, hit his head and lost consciousness. The fall led to tests, and doctor’s discovered a cancerous tumor on his brain stem.
Julias was worried — mostly for those who loved him. His mom was still in Kenya, and he didn’t want her to be alone and scared for her son.
“At first he was worried and he told me not to tell his mother,” Samuel said. “And I told him ‘I know how to handle this with your mother. I know how to talk to your mom.’ ”
The cancer changed many things for Julias, but it did not change his personality.
“He was not negative,” Samuel said. “And he could never get angry. I’ve never seen Julias angry.”
This positivity made Julias the peacekeeper in his home.
“He used to tell me, ‘You bring a lot of arguments, arguments bring hatred,’” Samuel said. “So he was like ‘Why can’t you bring discussion? Just discuss this thing. Don’t argue.’”
One day, while Julias was in Kansas and his mom was still in Kenya he called her with a problem.
“Mom,” he asked. “Can you help me?” A short boy at school was being bullied. Julias wanted to help.
“I told him, ‘Tell the boy, as short as he is, God created him and God loves him very, very much the way he is. And he should be confident of himself and not worry what people will say because people will always talk, even when you are perfect,” Connie said.
Julias took this to heart.
“He [told me] ‘Oh thank you, Mom. I’m going to tell him all this and I’m going to be by [his side],” Connie said.
Always at Julias’ side was his older sister Ruth, a senior at Free State this year. LHS senior Catherine Bell, a family friend, said the two were like best friends. Julias’ father saw this, too.
“One hundred percent [of the time] she was with Julias,” Samuel said. “All the time.”
Family and love mattered to Julias — not what other people thought of him. In Kenya, he would walk holding his mother’s arm — something boys in Kenya don’t usually do with their moms.
“So I was like ‘Julias, there are so many people here’ [and he said], ‘So what? You are my mother and I love you and that’s what matters,’ and we walked,” she said.
Connie arrived in the United States a few days before Julias passed.
“The very day I came, he became so excited to see me. He was like ‘oh Mom, I love you so much,’” Connie said.
The next day, Julias lost the ability to speak as his temperature rose. But he knew his mother was there when he took his last breath. His last word was “Mom.”
Life remembered
Although Julias has passed, his spirit continues with the people who knew him.
“Julias had a message that he wanted to give us as a family and that’s love,” Samuel said. “Maybe if we have love, we have everything.”
Bell found she couldn’t linger in her sadness.
“As I began to think about all the great times we spent together, the sadness went away because Julias was fun and sweet and […] he always made us smile,” she said. “So there was no room for me to be sad, only happy and grateful that I got to know such a great guy.”
English teacher Matt Stiles, Julias’ second-hour teacher, looked back to an essay Julias had written less than a month before he died. Stiles had asked him to write an autobiographical narrative after Julias had undergone radiation and chemotherapy.
At Julias’ visitation Stiles asked Connie and Samuel if he could share the essay with Julias’ class. They said yes.
“After I read the essay to his class, several were in tears. Not a lot was said at first. A couple students just said ‘Wow,’ ” Stiles recalled. “Most just sat and let Julias’ words sink in. It was hard to know what to say. I think they were all taken aback. But after a few moments, we began to talk about Julias and what he meant to us and what he had taught us.”
The class talked about Julias’ intelligence, thoughtfulness, sincerity, positive attitude and outlook on life. They remembered the way he always wanted to learn and his kindness and compassion.
“I’ll always remember his courage and optimism,” Stiles said. “And, of course, that smile.”
*slideshow pictures are courtesy of the Kamwaro family
