Why?

     This week I have been around a lot of grieving. My community as well as surrounding communities have experienced a tremendous amount of loss in the past week. Therefore, I would like to offer up this blog as a memory to each of those individuals.
     The first loss that occurred happened last Wednesday night. A student at Wheaton Warrenville South High School took his life after his volleyball match. He was on the team at WWS which is one of the top teams in the state. We played their team the weekend before at a tournament and were going to their tournament that very next day. The tournament was postponed by one day due to the events. That next day we were slated to play of all teams WWS. They looked visibly distraught. Words cannot describe what that community was going through.
     The second loss occurred at Stevenson High School. A girl there took her own life. While I am not so much familiar with her or the case, I experienced something quite significant. I saw one of my classmates today visibly distraught. She asked me to take notes for her. She looked off. It wasn't until later that I found out she was going to attend the funeral. We cannot place judgement on individuals. We must look after one another.
     The third loss I would like to mention is the one that happened yesterday by a student at my very own school. Once word started to spread, our community started to weep. Again. This was the fourth loss in our community in the past 9 months. Our community has been tired of such experiences. We do not want any more losses. However, it is inevitable. It's just trying to prevent that next one.
     So this leads to the eternal question, why? Why does this have to happen? Unfortunately, I hold no answers. What we as collective individuals must do is keep an eye out for each other. My psychology teacher always says, "YOU matter". I posted that as my facebook status. I want everyone to know that they truly do matter, and that each individual is significant. I did not post a quote because I have something special to offer today. My very own quote. I leave you today with this:

Kiss who you love like it's the first time and there's no second chance. Hug the ones you don't want to let go. Give your heart to someone you love and hold their heart even closer.