My life changed forever on July 11, 2009.
The day started out pretty sad for me as I was leaving JMU behind. It was already an emotional day. My family came to move all of my stuff out of my apartment. My sister and I took one last walk around campus. We then headed home.
I had my phone on silent the whole way home on accident but now I know it was a blessing in disguise.
I pulled up to my parents house and looked at my phone which had several missed calls from my friends. So, I called my friend Kristin first because she was the one who had called the most.
That phone call completely changed my life.
The first thing she asked me was if I was driving, this is when I knew something was wrong. At first I couldn't understand what she was saying, she repeated herself three times. Then she took a deep breath and I heard it "Brent died". She told me he had been in a motorcycle accident earlier that morning.
I didn't hear anything after that.
My friend was gone. Heather's boyfriend was gone. I had just seen him on the 4th of July. We had just hung out. He is only 20 years old.
That day and the days that followed were a blur. But after that week, a lot of thoughts settled in.
My friends and I were faced with the loss of a friend who was our own age. Someone we thought we'd see grow older. We were faced with our own mortality. I was faced with the only regret in my life.
On July 5th a local town has fourth of July fireworks and a carnival. I was supposed to go with Heather, Brent and Brent's cousin, Chelsea. I ended up calling Heather to tell her that I was just going to head back down to JMU instead of going, that way I would get home at a decent time rather than 1 in the morning. That is my only regret in my life, that I did not go to the fireworks.
This decision completely changed my life. Now, if my friends ask me to do something, I say yes and I do it unless I have to work. It doesn't matter if I really don't feel like going or I'm tired or whatever. I go, I take full advantage of the time I have with my friends and I spend every minute I can with them, especially now that we all live in different places.
We all miss our friend every day, but I am happy for the time we all got to spend together.
My friends and I were faced with the loss of a friend who was our own age. Someone we thought we'd see grow older. We were faced with our own mortality. I was faced with the only regret in my life.
On July 5th a local town has fourth of July fireworks and a carnival. I was supposed to go with Heather, Brent and Brent's cousin, Chelsea. I ended up calling Heather to tell her that I was just going to head back down to JMU instead of going, that way I would get home at a decent time rather than 1 in the morning. That is my only regret in my life, that I did not go to the fireworks.
This decision completely changed my life. Now, if my friends ask me to do something, I say yes and I do it unless I have to work. It doesn't matter if I really don't feel like going or I'm tired or whatever. I go, I take full advantage of the time I have with my friends and I spend every minute I can with them, especially now that we all live in different places.
We all miss our friend every day, but I am happy for the time we all got to spend together.
Chills running through me. I cannot imagine that. Sorry for your loss. It's nice you use him as inspiriation to live to the fullest!
ReplyDeleteI'm so very sorry for the loss of your friend. Life is so short, and you're right: no matter how I'm feeling that day (tired, cranky, etc.), I try to take advantage of all opportunities with family and friends because... well, you just never know. Sending hugs your way.
ReplyDeleteWow, what a difficult time for you! I'm so sorry to hear you lost your friend. I love the perspective you have on life now, to say yes and to go, because you just never know. Thanks for sharing.
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