Lexi Kretsch: A Brief Analysis

On May 11th 2013, my grandma passed away due to pancreatic cancer. A little later that year on September 25th, my mom received a call from my aunt in Guam that my dad had passed away in his sleep. Then on May 14th 2014, my grandpa passed from complications of an allergic reaction to a medication. So within a year, I was left to deal with three immediate family deaths, one right after another. Losing such important figures in one’s life could leave someone depressed and unmotivated to move on with their own life and to rise above those challenges is difficult, yet possible. During this time of hardship, I grew discouraged and saddened, but over time I became motivated to set aside these struggles and make a change.

My Dad asked me if I could help out at Cedar Springs Camp with other people I know. The weird thing was I said, “yes”. When we got there I saw that another teenager I knew was there to. She also heard about what happened yesterday. But, basically what we did was simple. All we had to do was load wood onto a truck. After about three to four hours of working, the girl invited us to watch her little brother play football. My brother Stephen went with to. And watching these little kids tackle each other was the funniest thing ever to Stephen and I. And watching the kids attempting to run was even funnier. After that we went to McDonald’s for supper. But yet again, I still had that depressed resting face. Next there was a balloon release in honor of Jadon Wulff. We all wore blue because it was his favorite color. Once I got out of the car, I saw my friend Levi, and I started to sob again. We were walking to the suspension bridge, and we met Sam. We each had a blue balloon in our hand. And a few minutes later everyone there released their balloons at the same time. After that, all the freshman sat in a circle and prayed. I also took big part in that myself. We were all sobbing which is completely okay in a situation like this. Levi’s Mom gave me a ride home. After that I went to bed, I was still a little sad but sort of content. Because I realized that Jadon Wulff is in heaven now and that God doesn’t want me to worry. A week later I grew acceptance that he was going to be with God for an eternity. And once I die, I will meet him

I was volunteering at the Career Closet that day, when a woman came in with 24 trash bags overfull with clothing, shoes, and prescription medication. As I was unloading the bags from her minivan and bringing them down to the back room of the Closet, she followed me around, telling me the story of her friend’s death. She had had a series of heart attacks and strokes, and lay dying in bed for over a year before her heart finally gave out. Her husband refused to move any of her belongings, but when he got a new girlfriend, she wanted space in their wardrobe, so she finally packed up all of the clothes and handed them off to the woman to whom I was now patiently listening ramble on and on, so she could find a place to donate them.

I never thought that I would help children deal with the death of someone they loved until May of 2015. Hospice care of the Piedmont is a nonprofit hospice that sponsors a camp every year called Camp Celebrate Hope. Through this camp, children who have lost significant people in their lives go through a weekend of counseling and fun at Lake Greenwood in Greenwood, SC. The objective of the camp is to teach children that life moves on and that is okay to have fun. Through being a counselor at Camp Celebrate Hope, I learned that with the proper training you can do anything, you don't have to have experienced the same trials as someone else to be an influence, and sometimes the most unexpected experiences in your life will make the greatest impact.

We were scared to death that Ashley would let go when we were gone, and she did. It tore me apart inside, to know that my baby cousin had passed away and I couldn’t even see her before. This was June 30th, 2016, 15 seemed too young, she had so much more to live for. I believe this is something that really took a tole on me. I lost my connection with Christ when he was probably something I needed the most. It felt almost impossible for him to be real and not have been able to save her. I eventually snapped out of that, because I realized what good will come in the future, and God needed to take her

Waiting quietly while God is ministering to this young lady. Tears are falling from her face, seeing the Lord really having his way with her. It doesn’t matter how long it takes because it is not about me but it about the young lady receiving the Lord comfort and recurrence that He is in control. After about twenty minutes of watching, she seems freer from her current situation.

It was August 13th, 2011, when my daughter Katelynn was born; 1 lb 13 oz. A premature baby, which doctors didn't give me much hope that she would make it. I remember the agony I was feeling, knowing that the most precious and most awaited gift was slipping away. My Heart was breaking apart into millions of piece with nothing for me to do but wait. On the outside, I tried to show a positive attitude, believing that the God all mighty could give me the victory; a miracle. Despite my hurt, I gave thanks to the Lord with all my heart for the blessing He had given me, to be a

One of the greatest challenges that I have had to overcome is dealing with the death of my best friend, Amreil Watson. It was junior year, April 27, 2015. Amreil and I were close and did almost everything together. We hung out every day, at school, after school, and even on the weekends. On April 27, I received a phone call from one of Amreils’ basketball teammates saying that he had passed out on the court and was being taken to the hospital at that very moment. I knew that no one could make such harsh, cruel jokes, but I still kept asking if it was really true. Later that day, my best friend passed away and I couldn’t feel anything but numbness. Days passed and I still felt so much pain that I fell into a horrible depression. It was hard for me to adapt to not seeing his face every day, and to find the motivation that I needed to go to school, and even just leave my room.

When it became time to send my cousin and her newlywed husband off, we all gathered around their old sports car that they were leaving on and watched as they drove. The car spun tires and let off a thick, black smoke and everyone began to cough. The smoke was so thick that you couldn’t even begin to see the person beside you, better yet afar. When it finally cleared up, I heard a loud choking sound and ran toward Uncle Johnny. He was laying on the ground and had no steady pulse for minutes. As I grew frantic, I ran toward him to try to help, but got pushed and was told to leave. They took me into the house and described the situation as they usually do to a child, beginning to tell me that he had not made it. The next three days were probably the worst of my life, condolences that were hearty and food to feed a family of 20 for multiple days. Nothing helped, I lost my best friend. Through all the heartbreak and disappointment, I began to not think about my loss, but my gains, which was the knowledge to not take people for granted, because everyone leaves in some way or another. Ever since that day, I feel blessed to say that I think I do truly see the value in people and things and I do not take them

In the summer of 2015, I went to Tennessee on a youth retreat. The purpose of this youth retreat was for my peers and I to make our bond with our God stronger. We were in the mountains, for a week, with plenty of space and time to talk with our God. On the last night of our stay we

I remember the tearless man standing beside the bed where the body of his mother, my grandmother, laid. There was a silent feeling in the room even as the cries and yells that were heard outside of the room from family members and friends lingered. I was shocked to see my father not cry in the sorrowful room. I knew he was being strong for me so I wanted to be strong for him. I asked him why he never seemed to have shed a tear and he responded saying "Because she is in God's hands now". Hearing that when I was young, I did not understand at the time; however, it made me realize later how significant it is to look up to my Dad during distressing times and learn from his implicit behaviors as teachings for becoming a young man.

Losing my son was the most heartbreaking death to occur to me in my lifetime. My son, Alex Mason Hanlon, was born on October 30, 2016 and he died when he was only two months old on December 24, 2016. My son passed away from SIDS. SIDS stands for Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, which means an infant's heart basically stops working while they are asleep. I woke up that cold, dreary morning at 7:06 a.m. the sun was just coming up and it was starting to rain to find him passed away in the bed. I gave him CPR but he was already gone. Losing him shattered me. My grades plummeted to the ground and I withdrew from the world. Going to the funeral was worse, it was like reality hitting me hard. I was never going to hold my baby boy again, I would never hear his cries and coos again, but most importantly I would not see

As a teenager, I was a little bit rebelious and things didn’t work out very well. I was expelled from 3 schools, my relationship with my parents was non-existant, and we were arguing constantly, my girlfriend of four years left me, and I thought that God wasn’t; I was anti-religious. I thought that he was obligated to help me, but I was mistaken. I was not feeling happy, or free or full. I almost wanted to end my life, as I felt myself absolutely empty. I felt that something was missing inside me. At that time, my grandmother was dying because of a horrible illness that had been accompanying her for years, multiple sclerosis. On her last day of life I went to the hospital to stay all night long with her, and we had an unforgettable chat. I still remember ourselves in that uncomfortable hospital bed speaking about life. She gave me a golden medal of Jesus that she was wearing. She told me that she had never removed that medal in her life, that it was very special for her. She knew that I was not going trough a good moment, and told me that my solution was to trust God, to speak with Him, to open my heart. That God loves everyone who believes and cares of him. She said me to trust him, just to try. So I went to the church that night to speak with Him. I went because of her, and especially, because of me, because it seemed that God was my last resource to feel free and new.

On another day a different friend of mine’s grandmother died and she was completely heartbroken. Her eyes were as red as blood, the river of tears was drowning her face and they just wouldn’t stop. You could hear her trying to hold back her sobs like she had been holding them in for years. You could hear in her voice she was grief-stricken, she cried everyday and as a friend you would think that I would comfort her, tell her everything was going to be ok and hug her as long as she needed me to. No, when she came crying to me I told her,

Losing my aunt helped me to learn to realize life is to short. You should learn to live in the moment. When I lost my aunt, I didn’t come out the house for two months. I didn’t want to talk to anybody I didn’t want to do anything I just wanted to be left alone. After a while I had to learn that I can’t go on living life sad all the time. So instead one day I told my mom “I’m ready to conquer my goals and dreams now.” Later, that day I went on about my day as usual. I interacted I went to my practices and games and smiled all day. My mom asked me what made today different? I told her “I prayed on it God told me to keep fighting, keep dreaming and keeping going.” It wasn’t easy. I had to get out of my funk but I knew that God and my aunt wanted me to do better for myself. I woke up every day and wrote out a little goal list, even if it was the littlest