I have a very serious topic that I would like to talk about today.
I'll be addressing depression and suicide. I strongly recommend you all to read this.
Many of you have probably heard about it hundreds and hundreds of times already. However, watching a mischievous and playful friend succumb into depression so deep that it led to suicide emotionally struck me.
Today, just an hour ago, my friend Ryan Walden died from an attempted suicide.
He was rushed to the hospital this morning, but it was too late.
Ryan, a freshman like me, was the most clever and respectful person I've ever met. He was only 14, his birthday only a few months away from now.
Most importantly, he's a person I've spent four years with. He is a child of loving parents and brothers. He is a friend to many.
We have all been impacted by his passing.
I am crying as I'm typing this. I still can't believe that the boy I saw just a week ago, the boy who I helped with homework, the boy who say next to me, is now gone.
Forever.
There will always be an empty seat next to me, as if almost waiting for him to come in one day so everything would be normal again.
But it's won't.
Death is irreversible. To realize he was hiding his depression, to realize I didn't notice; I feel guilty.
Maybe I could've done something.
Maybe I could've prevented this even if it was just one little action, such as going to visit him or asking to hang out.
Depression is serious. As someone who went though it before, I can truthfully tell you that there are more types of depression than there are different types of snowflakes.
Depression can lable many emotions. I know many of you mean well when you say, "I know how you feel."
When you're that deep in depression, however, no one wants to hear that.
Just be there for them.
Reach out to them.
Let them know you're thinking about them.
Let them know you care.
I beg of anyone who has difficultly staying in this world to talk to someone you trust.
Anyone.
Hotlines, family, 911, etc.
The impact you leave and the life that you abandon is impossible to reverse.
Life is beautiful.
Rest in peace, Ryan.
-Gin
