Death! Have I got your attention? I am writing this article not to criticize or persuade, but only to reach out to students and make them aware of something that we sometimes do not want to think about. That is fine if you are one of those individuals who avoid the topic of death, but sooner or later it will come upon you. In this article I am not talking about death 50 years from now, I am talking about death that comes tragically and unexpectedly.
I want you to look back and think to yourself some of the things that you have done where you took a huge risk not even realizing it? Personally, I can name so many:
For example, jumping off a 75 foot cliff at 3a.m., not knowing what was below me, but only water. Does not sound to smart now does it? I just did it for the short-term “rush” it offered, but I didn’t really think about the consequences that it may have provided. I came out lucky, thankfully. I look back at all the times I said to myself, “I can’t believe I drove home last night, I don’t remember a thing.” I think many of us can relate to that statement. Thanks to a well known “UPD” that all ended for me.
There are so many more incidents I could name when I put my life in jeopardy, but I think you get my point of risks taken.
This past summer a student lost her life in a motorcycle accident. This was certainly a tragic loss, but at the same time served as a wake-up call for many. I personally did not know this individual, but I felt the pain. After this accident, I thought to myself that I would have probably put myself in a situation like that not thinking anything about it, and that scared me. That event made many think about their own lives.
Also, this past summer we lost another student in a boating accident out on Lake Conroe. This time he was a friend of mine. I had not lost a friend before this and I took it hard. I could remember prior to his death how happy he was and how he always seemed to have a smile on his face. He was looking forward to graduating and taking on a job that was waiting for him. It just did not seem to fair that his life had to end so tragically. His future was taken away from him. The whole thing shocked me and once again made me re-evaluate my own life. Shortly after that accident, another student lost his life out on Lake Livingston. This once again touched the hearts of the SHSU community.
None of these students deserved to be taken away from this world. In an instant moment their lives came to an end. It left SHSU, friends, and especially families heartbroken. I just cannot imagine my parents getting a phone call telling them that their daughter was killed in an accident. That is the one thing they most fear when the phone rings during the middle of the night. Pain and anguish is something they would have to live with for the rest of their lives. Parents are not supposed to burying their children, their children are supposed to bury them.
I hope this article in some way or another has reached out to you and made you think a little. Take some time to think about what I have said and then take a look at your own lives. We think nothing can happen to us, but the recent deaths of these SHSU students proves that we are not invincible. I just sometimes can not believe that I am still here with the many risks that I have taken in my life. I want to get the point across we can not take life for granted and once it is gone, it is gone. There is no coming back.
There is nothing wrong with having fun, but do it with caution. Put your safety first. Continue to have fun, but I do it to a certain degree. Think of the consequences to the risks that you are taking. Also, we need to be friends and good ones at that. If your friend comes stumbling out of a bar and insist that they are okay to drive simply take their keys away and let them look like a fool if they choose to. They will mostly likely be thanking you later. I thank my friends throughout my college years who I have taken care of me. I find it hard to put my thoughts into words, but I hope you get a sense of the seriousness of this topic I am passing onto you. To sum it up, all it is, is common sense, making smart decisions, and thinking a little. You have one life to live, so don’t cut your life short, live it to the fullest.
In Memory…….
HAVE A SAFE SPRING BREAK!