Fotografo de Bodas, Santiago

April 27, 2010

I was sitting here wasting time not packing before we leave for Peru. I was on Facebook and one of my friends’ statuses showed up as her joining a group in memory of those who have passed from the class of 2002 at my high school. I clicked on the group. I thought there was one person who had died from my graduating class. I was wrong, there were several — at least 5 in that group alone.

The one that I already knew of, Anthony, of died our senior year. He would have graduated with me, but he didn’t. It took our whole school a long time to get over that and in fact, I’m not sure we ever did — it’s become a part of the collective conscious of GHS. Anthony wasn’t my best friend or anything like that, but I liked him, we were friends. He was friends with everybody. He was that kind of guy — full of life. I think about him all the time. It’s actually weird how much he crosses my mind now in death, because he certainly didn’t cross it that often in life. But I think of him so often and I wonder what he would be doing if he were still alive — something great, I’m sure, because he was great.

But I came to grips with that. There will always be an ache in the pit of my stomach whenever I remember Anthony, but I’ve made my peace with his death and when I think of him it doesn’t hit me hard anymore.

Then today I found out that these 5 other people from my graduating class have also passed away since we finished high school. I barely knew any of them at all, except for one, who went to school with me from elementary on if I remember correctly. That’s not to say we were good friends — but still, I knew him. He was my age. He was a nice person. We said hi to each other in the hallways. I hadn’t seen him since graduation and now I never will. He was my Facebook friend. Just months ago there were posts back and forth from him to his friends and vice versa. Now his wall is filled with condolences.

I had no idea. And I still have no idea what happened, but whatever it is, I’m sad. I hate the thought of getting to a 10 year high school reunion and having people from class not be there because they’re gone. Looking at that Facebook page just knocked the wind right out of my sails.

Life is too short. That’s all.

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5 Comments

I received an invite to that group recently too, and I was also shocked by the list of those that have passed! I had no idea, which I guess is an effect on living out of state/out of the country. And I couldn't believe that the number was so high; we've only been out of high school for 8 years. I liked your comments about Anthony. I think about him sometimes too and how much of life he missed out on.

As a side note, are you planning on coming to the 10 year reunion? I hope they plan something, I would love to come. Visits to Michigan are just too few and far between. Plus I would love to see you since you don't make it over to “my” side of the country when you visit the US! Who is in charge of planning? Weren't you an Executive Board officer? I wasn't an officer but I'd love to help. I can't believe that 10 years is only 2 years away.

Comment by Lindsey — April 28, 2010 @ 8:20 pm

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That is really sad. I was also thinking about this much this week(though of course in relation to my own experiences). I had a friend and a guy I grew up with that died during high school of illnesses, then a few friends die tragically since. Since with none of them I was close enough to get seriously down about it often, remembering them moreso comes up in thoughts pondering death and what they might have experienced if it would've have happened. Thinking about it troubles me a little.

Moreso I have been uneasy about one of the few Chilean girls I really clicked with, who took her own life last year. I didn't go to the funeral and found the events and experiences surrounding her death extermely unsettling and not at all what I personally needed to move on.

But this week I actually went to a funeral for a young boy. The funeral was absolutely beautiful, more than one would ever expect. Although of course, entirely sad, the way the family and church and everyone set up the funeral proceedings and the messages they gave were so moving and well put together. I left sad, but somehow not as uneasy as you would expect in confronting the situation of an early death. Surprisingly it's made me feel a little more settled about the previous experiences.

Im sorry you found out this way though. While I'm glad facebook connects everyone, its still kind of ridiculous to find out about important events this way

Comment by Lydia — April 29, 2010 @ 12:39 am

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hugs from australia, my friend… life is too short, and it saddens me to read this about your lost friends (whether they were all great mates or not)… thinking of you from afar. xoxo

Comment by Christine — April 29, 2010 @ 1:44 am

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Un gran gran abrazo Kyle.
Creo que lo Ãºnico que podemos hacer con estos “eventos” que escapan de nuestras manos, es estar agradecidos de estar aquÃ, de estar sanos, de estar vivos, pero de una manera genuina. Lamentar con el corazÃ³n la pÃ©rdida de esos otros, y disfrutar con toda el alma cada dÃa, “la vida es corta, eso es todo”, asÃ como lo dices, entonces, no olvidar dar esos abrazos a quienes quieres abrazar, no olvidar decir esos “te quiero”, no dejar ni por un minuto de admirar todo a tu alrededor y llenarte de felicidad por poder verlo.

Comment by Loquenoves — April 29, 2010 @ 5:36 pm

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Life is WAY too short!!! I was actually going to write you an email about this the other day and I got sidetracked. I'm sorry that you're sad, but use that sadness to do great things with the time you have left. That's the best way to honor their lives!

Comment by GlobalButterfly — April 29, 2010 @ 11:28 pm

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