meisa's lagoon

there are people you meet in your life who touch you in unimaginable ways. just random people, maybe that you see everyday as you pay your tolls driving into work, or maybe the person you buy your coffee from every morning. just the smile they may give you, or the interest they take in your life just perks you up everyday.
for me, one of these people was <a href="http://web.wm.edu/news/?id=2902">ernestine jackson</a>, a dining services worker at william and mary. i met her my freshman year as i was standing in line at the cafeteria, waiting to pay for my food. her warm spirit was enough to brighten up any day, no matter how crummy it was. the way she would smile and say "hey boo, how're you doin'?" would make me laugh everytime.
ernestine was a woman with immense pride in her work. while the school may have thought they were paying her to swipe our IDs in the lunch line, her true job was caring for every student there as if they were her own children. she made it her mission to take an interest in everyone, and make everyone feel that, though they were far from home, they always had a friend in her. she was someone who would come running with jellybeans if she saw tears in your eyes, someone who would sing a song to you as you were standing in the lunch line, and someone who always had her arms open waiting for a hug.
ernestine jackson passed away monday morning at age 55 after losing a battle to cancer. with her passed all the bright eyed hellos and cheery smiles. but remaining are thousands of students whose lives have been forever touched by a wonderful woman who simply had to smile and say "hey baby".