Below is an attempt to describe my feelings upon hearing about Health Ledger’s untimely death yesterday. Please give me grace if it’s not the most articulate.

By now most of you have heard about Heath Ledger’s death yesterday in Manhattan. News of his death was shocking to me because I could relate to him. He was 28 years old, I’m 28 years old. He was a talented actor, but not a sloppy Hollywood megastar from what I know about his life. He seemed to choose his roles wisely, even ones that were controversial,i.e., Brokeback Mountain.

Perhaps the most bothersome piece of his death is that he’s only 28 years old. Born in April 1979 just a few months before me. Though I can’t relate to being an actor or a celebrity I can relate to being in my late twenties, still clinging to my ideals and a vision of a bright future.

Essentially, nothing is forsaken yet. There’s still time to make my mark on the world. It is sad to see a creative peer die such an early death. What’s worse is that he has a young daughter. And even though he and Michelle Willams split up back in September 2007 I wonder if she is completely distraught. After you spend three years of your life with someone, as reported by the press, it would be hard to severe all love, especially if you’re connected by blood through a child.

Ledger’s death was significant to me because it reminded me how fleeting life is and how much more creating I have left to do. If I died today I would not be satisfied with what I had done with my talents and abilities. For whatever reason that led to his death, Ledger is no longer able to create and that his heartbreaking considering he was on the verge of his full potential. Heath’s time was cut awfully short. Even though he accomplished so much during his short life he still had more work to do, a lifetime of art to produce.

I look forward to The Dark Knight and what becomes of his daughter Matilda. I can’t imagine losing a father at the brink of childhood memory. Even though my dad was next to absent to me as a kid, he’s still living and we can work at knowing each other moving forward. Each day I live with the option of knowing my dad. Matilda doesn’t have this option and that is tragic.