Ramsey Ghazzawi
Director - Creative Director
Brooklyn, NY
How old do you want to live to be?
That’s not up to me.
Do you have a fantasy funeral?
I hope it’s more like a party. Good food, good wine, good music. Laugh and smile as much as you cry. I want outrageous things to happen and my friends and family to say “it’s what he would’ve wanted” because it probably is.
What scares you the most about dying?
A tie between the moment you realize it’s happening to you & the moment mom gets the news.
What would your 3 pieces of wisdom be for the those left behind?
Trust yourself.
Practice empathy.
Say yes.
If you had a destination funeral where would it be?
Shebaa, Lebanon.
Where would you want your ashes spread?
The Mediterranean Sea
Top 5 songs to play at your funeral
Street Lights - Kanye West
Wahdon- Fairouz
Mayonaise - The Smashing Pumpkins
I Am The Black Gold of the Sun - Rotary Connection
Life of the Party - Kanye West & André 3000
Open casket wake? Burial? Cremation?
Burial or Cremation. Whatever my mom wants. Definitely no open casket, I don’t want the people I love to see me that way.
If you could live forever, would you want to?
Absolutely not. Legacy is forever and that’s more than enough.
Where do you think you go once you die?
We’re reborn. Not necessarily as humans again, but we go somewhere else. Maybe as light.
If there is a heaven who are 3 people you would like to hang out with there?
Anthony Bourdain
Khalil Gibran
Prince
Do you believe in ghosts?
Yes
If reincarnation is real what do you want to come back as?
Whatever the divine chooses for me.
What are three words you hope people use to describe you when you are gone?
Warm
Loved
Based
Biggest regret in life?
Not letting love in sooner.
For those who have lost people they love
Top 3 things that helped you through grief
Exchanging stories
Holding on to mementos and photos
Honoring their wishes
Best advice someone gave to you?
Proceed with an open heart and an open mind
Did meditation, friends, food help you the most?
Friends, family, and strangers. I’ve had total catharsis with people I’ve met only once. People are much more open than we think. Just be honest.
How was navigating the funeral home and what’s your advice?
I haven’t had this experience yet. Grief for me has been obscured by borders, timing, and vegetation. The biggest loss I’ve experienced, when I last saw him, he was alive, breathing, paralyzed, and couldn’t speak. He looked at me and didn’t remember me. I sobbed in his arms to a blank stare and awkward smile. He died two years later. My advice is nothing can prepare you for these times. Nothing can prepare you for the good times either. You just have to go with it. Grieve loudly, love loudly, laugh loudly. Do everything with heart. It’s ok.
If you were to give someone 1 piece of advice on grief what would it be?
Feel your pain. Take as much time as you need. Above all, always remember and honor the fact that it’s going to happen to you too. It’s going to happen to everyone you love and have ever loved. The sooner you accept that, the sooner you actually begin living your life.
Memento Mori.
"Every man has two lives, and the second starts when he realizes he has just one”
