Shocking
How do I begin?
How do I summarize the feelings I have at this moment without cheaping them or making myself too vulnerable? I suppose I'll start with the news I received.
My friend Priscy called me today to tell me that one of our high school classmates passed away this weekend. For those of you Franklin High grads, it was Steven Judd. Now, Steven wasn't just a classmate to me, he was someone that I grew up with. We attended grades 6 through 12 together and were in a lot of the same classes. We never really hung out together, but we did belong to the same social circles and did interact. I come to find out that he died of alcohol poisoning on his 21st birthday and I feel nothing but sorrow. My heart goes out to his family, his Delta Chi bros, his good friends, my fellow classmates. As I sit here and contemplate this tragedy, I feel utterly lost in emotion. I don't know if I should feel frustrated at a death that could have been prevented, or if I feel shattered by the realization that none of us is immortal. I have never had a peer of mine pass away before and now that it has happened, all of the media hypes regarding alcoholism and it's dangers seem to be in vain. I think of all the people that I love who drink too much or put themselves in dangerous positions. To me, Steven's death is an awakening to how the people around me truly act. I will NOT let Steven's death go without making an impact. I have listened to too many newscasts and read too many articles about these sorts of tragedies and too many times I have let them flow over me without really understanding them. Now, I cannot let this go without saying:
There are so many of you that I love so dearly that I know have let yourselves get too carried away with one pleasure or another. Please, I beg of you, for my sake and for your own, step outside yourself for a moment and assess the hazards you put yourself through. Realize that by putting yourself in danger, you could possibly be hurting the people you love. So, please, before you take that fifth shot of vodka or whiskey or drink that seventh beer, think not about what it might do for you or where it might take you, but how it might ultimately break you.
I love you all so much, please make wise decisions.
How do I summarize the feelings I have at this moment without cheaping them or making myself too vulnerable? I suppose I'll start with the news I received.
My friend Priscy called me today to tell me that one of our high school classmates passed away this weekend. For those of you Franklin High grads, it was Steven Judd. Now, Steven wasn't just a classmate to me, he was someone that I grew up with. We attended grades 6 through 12 together and were in a lot of the same classes. We never really hung out together, but we did belong to the same social circles and did interact. I come to find out that he died of alcohol poisoning on his 21st birthday and I feel nothing but sorrow. My heart goes out to his family, his Delta Chi bros, his good friends, my fellow classmates. As I sit here and contemplate this tragedy, I feel utterly lost in emotion. I don't know if I should feel frustrated at a death that could have been prevented, or if I feel shattered by the realization that none of us is immortal. I have never had a peer of mine pass away before and now that it has happened, all of the media hypes regarding alcoholism and it's dangers seem to be in vain. I think of all the people that I love who drink too much or put themselves in dangerous positions. To me, Steven's death is an awakening to how the people around me truly act. I will NOT let Steven's death go without making an impact. I have listened to too many newscasts and read too many articles about these sorts of tragedies and too many times I have let them flow over me without really understanding them. Now, I cannot let this go without saying:
There are so many of you that I love so dearly that I know have let yourselves get too carried away with one pleasure or another. Please, I beg of you, for my sake and for your own, step outside yourself for a moment and assess the hazards you put yourself through. Realize that by putting yourself in danger, you could possibly be hurting the people you love. So, please, before you take that fifth shot of vodka or whiskey or drink that seventh beer, think not about what it might do for you or where it might take you, but how it might ultimately break you.
I love you all so much, please make wise decisions.