A Lesson in Flying High

What do you do when someone takes their own life? How do you react when someone who once roamed the same hallways and went through the same day  is no longer there? I didn't know Alexis, but how is it that I was living my life as someone else's life was getting so bad that they went and ended it?

I want to say sorry, I wish so much that I could have been there, I wish I could have held your hand, I wish I could have cried with you through your pain, instead of through your passing.
 
It was all too surreal. Around me people were feeling pain and loss, but I didn't know how to face it. I couldn't feel. I didn't know what to feel. For a couple days I pretended it hadn't happened. But at some point I completely came undone.
 
I learned that the right response isn't to pretend it didn't happen; it is to prevent something like this from happening again. 

A very brave girl I know taught me this. She stood in front of a room full of people and told us Alexis’s story and with strength and courage she told us her own story too. In those five minutes that she spoke she changed me, she made me realize that the kid with the smile isn't  always the happiest. I cried because I wished  I would have known before. Alexis was gone, but the girl who had a similar story was standing before me and changing my life,  and in seeing how far she'd come, I realized that it's never too late.  From now on I'll be there, I'll listen, and I'll hold even the person that appears to be smiling, because you just never know what someone is going through.

If everyone took the time to look beyond themselves and make the life of someone else a little better we could save so many lives.

    Appreciate the people who are in our lives,
    Be there for them not only at their highest points, but also at their lowest times,
    Tell someone who can get them help,
    and Love them even on the days you think they don't deserve it,
    because that day could make all the difference.

These are the lessons I've learned from Alexis.

Loss can sometimes teach us more than life. I've changed and grown through this along with so many others. I would really like to hear what you have to say, share what you’ve learned and  how you’ve changed  by commenting on this post. It's up to each of us as individuals to prevent things like this from happening again.

Thanks and with love, Summer