I was listening the Rangers-Yankees game on Sports Radio Ticket 760 when I learned that former President Ronald Reagan died after a long fight with Alzheimer's disease. It was a typical summer day, just me playing Sim City 3000 on my laptop after mowing the lawn and shopping for suit for a conference in Dallas.

Then a man’s voice came over the radio. It was somber and I listened over the music playing on my computer to hear “Former president Ronald Reagan died today at the age of 93”.

From the mood that conveyed by that announcer’s voice, it was one of those events that people would remember where they were and how they felt. People will miss Ronald Reagan not only for his political achievements, but also for his approachable, laid-back attitude and his multifaceted qualities that any American can relate to.

Reagan didn’t die surrounded by media or controversy, but died peacefully surrounded by family in his California home, withdrawn from the public life.

Like his death, Reagan was born of humble origins in 1911 in a small town in Illinois. After a career in sports announcer, he found a career in acting and was immortalized in the movie Knute Rockne: All American as tragic Notre Dame football star George Gipp. During the 1960’s and 70’s he served two consecutive terms as Governor of California, and then in 1980, he set his sights towards Washington D.C. and ran against then-President Jimmy Carter and won in a landslide.

At the beginning of the 1980’s, the United States were facing major issues, such as the Iranian Hostage Crisis, rising inflation, and at a larger spectrum, the Cold War. When Reagan was inaugurated in January of 1981, he seemed more like a grandfather than the most powerful man in the nation. He had the optimistic personality that wasn’t seen since the days of president John F. Kennedy.

Common people could once again confide in the president, something that wasn’t done since the Watergate scandal. Reagan was ready to turn the United States and the World out of its slump.

By the end of his tenure eight years later, with the Cold War over and worldwide morale at all-time highs, Reagan had truly changed the world, and the United States came out to be the victor. He then withdrew from public life in 1994, after he contracted Alzheimer's disease, which later led to his demise.

After I learned of Reagan’s death, I went on Yahoo and explored the various versions of Yahoo that suited different countries. The news of Reagan’s death was translated in French, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, and Japanese. Reagan was one of those presidents who will not only be mourned by just Americans but throughout the world.

He carried America out of its depression streak with integrity and honor and made the term “American” a proud name to hold for the 220 million Americans he presided over. America did not make Ronald Reagan; Ronald Reagan made America what it is today.