When I first heard the news that JFK Jr.’s plane was missing, I was interning in Butte, Mt. I know to some people, recollecting that day might seem a little trite, as if it wasn’t that big of a deal, as if it was on par with saying you remember some event that seems more like pop culture than actual, big-important history.

You know, like I was on my couch eating popcorn when Donna finally lost her virginity on “90210” or I was in my car when I first (regrettably) heard “The Thong Song.” Some people actually think of the tragic death of a president’s son as kitschy.

I don’t know if this has something to do with jealousy on some people’s part, because JFK Jr. was rich, good looking, athletic, the list goes on.

Those same people seem to conveniently forget the hardship he faced in his lifetime, and no, I’m not talking about flunking the NYC bar exam twice.

Anyway, I was more than a little confused when my Montana roommate rushed to wake me that morning to tell me that “JFK is dead!” After wondering just how bad the Montana public school system must be that she just now found out about the 1963 assassination, she explained her statement.

There was constant news about the search, the update, etc. We all know how it ended. John F. Kennedy Jr.’s body wasn’t even found before I heard my first dead JFK Jr. joke while I was at the office. (Don’t worry, I won’t repeat it. It’s a rip-off of a tasteless Natalie Wood joke anyway.)

Sunday was the one-year anniversary of the deaths of Kennedy, his wife Carolyn Bessette Kennedy and her sister Lauren Bessette.

The previous week, a report was released that credited the failure of their Atlantic flight to “spatial disorientation,” or that the pilot, John Kennedy Jr., became disoriented while flying his Piper Saratoga.

There was an excess of media coverage about the event; I can’t deny that. I really didn’t want to listen to Dan Rather wax poetic about John or his father just to fill airtime while the world waited to hear whether John was alive or dead.

While many people bought the magazines that carried the news of the deaths of the trio, there were complaints that the media had gone overboard.

True, there were reports about the accident on nearly 24 hours a day for almost a week after the plane crash. And, yes, it’s true that John Jr.’s death, in a historical perspective, had little significance compared to the deaths of his father and uncle, Sen. Robert Kennedy.

John Jr. never held an elected office. Although he had been involved with plenty of charity work in his lifetime, much of his press came from whom he was dating at the time (a list of who’s who blondes that ranged from Madonna to Sarah Jessica Parker to Daryl Hannah).

He reportedly only did a competent performance at his job in the NYC District Attorney’s Office. He desperately wanted to be an actor, but his mother pushed him to be a lawyer.

Kennedy Jr.’s final creative endeavor was George magazine, which was intended to be a hip blend of politics and pop culture. He was criticized about some of his work for that publication, including an editorial he penned that denounced some members of the Kennedy clan for their drug use and womanizing.

He was also accused of using his name to secure high-profile interviews with world leaders and power players, and then just pitching them softball questions.

John F. Kennedy Jr. was far from perfect.

But, even after one year, I can understand why there’s still so much public fascination with John and Jackie’s second son (baby Patrick was buried in 1963). Frankly, I found it surprising there wasn’t more media coverage about the crash this weekend.

John F. Kennedy Jr. was often seen but seldom heard; that coupled with his flunking the bar and living remnants of a playboy lifestyle may have made him seem dumb or inconsequential. That’s not true.

The reason JFK Jr., his death and the Kennedys in general touch a nerve with many Americans is that they symbolize something bigger, even better, than everyday life. Whether that’s the reality is inconsequential.

Many historians still view JFK as one of the best presidents in recent history, while the reality is that he botched the Bay of Pigs invasion which got us into the Cuban missile crisis.

People don’t want to think about that; they want to remember the handsome president and his beautiful wife.

You can take that cynical view to the late JFK Jr. and his wife, that they were just beautiful people and little more. But they represented something beautiful, something fragile.

Seeing their eyes in paparazzi photos makes one wonder if they didn’t know their days were numbered.

While there are many myths that surround John F. Kennedy Jr., the conventional wisdom’s notion that he led a charmed life is misguided.

He had money and beautiful women, but he never got a chance to live his life on his terms.

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Kate Kompas is a junior in journalism and mass communication from LeClaire. She is editor in chief of the Daily.