Personal Narrative: Life Before Dying

Cozy coffee shops, warm summers, friendly hugs…1.2.3. Disastrous events occur all the time. We are always aware that someone, somewhere in the world, is hurtling forwards into tragedy. Tragic endings leave behind unanswered questions, unfulfilled dreams, unspoken thoughts. Those who love you are left behind, in the dust of your presence, spent to forever remember only your memory, not your existence. Crisp slices of toast, piping hot cups of tea, fresh strawberries…1.2.3. We all tend to forget an end exists. We spend our lives compiling as many happy memories as we can, fully enjoying the good days, deeply mourning the sad ones. When tragedy strikes, only then are we reminded that the end is there, and we scurry and try once again to make the most out of

Dealing with grief is never easy. One of the hardest time in anyone’s life is when an acquaintance or a loved one passes away. In the second week of the Fall 2016 semester, I received a devastating call. I walked into my chemistry class, and my mom called me from Turkey to tell me that my grandmother had passed away. I sat in silence in the car on the way home and thought about my grandmother. She had taught me innumerable important lessons throughout my life. Losing her changed everything, and I knew I had to return to my home country to say goodbye to my grandmother.

The remorse grey morning awaited. I never knew one person could have such an impact on my life, as well as everyone else’s lives. I always thought everything was just a beautiful fantasy land where everything was perfect. Waterfall coming out of everyone's eyes filled my imagination of what one man can do to a crowd. I asked myself one question, “Why him, why does it have to be him”. The emotions, pouring out of meand I knew the fall of 2006 was gonna be bad.

I’ve always wondered what death feels like, finally coming to the point in your life where everything stops. Is it just a sudden silence? What does death taste like, what does it look like? People say that you can have a near-death experience, but I sure as hell haven’t ever had one. None of that “Life flashes before your eyes” B.S. I mean sure, I’ve had a few bumps and bruises, and a couple times I’ve come home anything but sober. I’ve never really come close to dying or death in general, well not until that day in the woods.

Brittany was said to seem cleared eyed and peaceful. Yet she still wanted to end her life. I don’t think that people should be able to take their life if the still have six months, that’s a lot of time. Also what qualifies a doctor to be able tell someone if they should or should not be able to take their life. However, I do think that at a certain point where the body is completely broken down and the person can do absolutely nothing they should have an option to end it. But if you allow every person that has a hard time be allowed to apply to “die with dignity” you will have a lot of dead people on your hands, no matter how many check points you put in place. People have a way of getting what they need.

Why am I torturing myself? Enclosed in a 3 sided cage with only the illusion of freedom out the steel framed front door. The mirrors on the walls staring at my jiggling fat from all angles. The dingy ceiling tiles are stained from countless roof leaks and the floor littered with pebbles and rubber from a busted medicine ball. The sting of body odor and bleach fills my nostrils. Head splitting music ravishes my ears through the chaos of weights clashing and ropes smacking the floor. My classmates glare at me with their squinty hypocritical eyes.

I am so humbled to have been a part of such a huge production and event this past weekend in West Palm Beach, FL. I Co Produced the first ever A Concert for Humanity benefit concert, benefiting the amazing charity Wells of Life. Did you know? every 21 seconds a child dies from drinking contaminated water. The Incredible team and I put together a concert to bring awareness to this and I have to say, we kicked ass. We got the Grammy Nominated NEEDTOBREATHE to fly out and put on the concert of a lifetime. 5 (short) weeks of hard work, planning, studying and preparing we were able to bring it all together. There were many highlights of my weekend, talking with the creators of Wells Of Life, meeting to many selfless people, hanging with the band,

As we mature, we learn to appreciate certain people in our lives, for instance: our grandparents. We live with the fear that we can lose them in the blink of an eye, as every passing day brings them closer to their death beds (hyperbole), but we're too busy living our lives, making time for work, school, and friends (Euphemism). We assure ourselves that we have forever to spend with them, but that is where we are mistaken. Unfortunately, this year in January, I experienced the cruel reality of death, myself. I have realized, truly how much death can change your perspective on many aspects of life. When I faced with this death, I began to appreciate family more, began to express my love for them more out of the fear that any goodbye could be the last.

When I was nine my father died. Death sprung from its hiding place and took what was most dear to me. I love my dad; he taught me to love and to enjoy life. We often went fishing and biking together. After his death the bikes and fishing poles collected dust in the garage. Sometimes when I let the feelings get to me, I would stare at the two dusty bikes and fishing poles and punch them with my small hands.

I sat on the bumper and read. I read and read until I could no longer see the page in front of me. All around me fairy lights were going up and lamps were being lit to prepare for the evening.

Surviving a near death experience can have a lasting impression on an individual. The sheer unpredictability of the event as well as the immediate danger that is presented in front of the person are two. Unfortunately, as a nine-year old, I had an unexpected encounter with a Rottweiler dog as I was coming home from school on a rainy day. It was an experience that made me change my outlook on life and how I perceived danger in general.

Isaac, a student from Elk County Catholic in Saint Mary's, currently working hard to be a good practicing Catholic. I beg that you do not fall into the deep, dark sin of suicide, the price of your life is not worth all of the problems you are struggling through, suicide is the act or instance of taking one's own life voluntarily and intentionally, the Lord gave us our life as a gift, do not waste it. Remember, Christ died on the cross so that we may live. If you are considering this horrible action, imagine all of the pain and stress your family will endure, you will not just be hurting yourself, but others around you. I feel confused and angered by anyone who is even thinking about ending their life. If you are one of the struggling people

For the Fallen Ones, The ones whom I dearly miss, For they’ve gone into permanent slumber. And I had no way to stop it.

For a little while my family was seeing smoke on the horizon of life, as a life-altering wildfire was headed our way. My dad came back from the war beaten and broken, he had seen a lot of things and he was changed from the inside out, because of this, again my dad faced big decisions that could change the direction of my life. Even through all this my dad stayed the rock in our house and he pushed the fire away by making the right decision.

Death is an experience that every individual must deal with at one point in their life. Personally, I have little experience with death, but I have dealt with it through the pain felt by those surrounding me. When my Grandfather passed away, I did not experience any sort of loss, as I had only met him one time, but I supported my Mother as she grieved the loss of her father. Over time, I have supported friends who have lost family members, but was never forced to deal with death directly. Due to my inexperience with death and dying, I continue to have a fear of what is unknown to me.