Post Written By: Chris Stein
This week Dunbar had an assembly for guest speaker Manny Scott and in our AP Lit class, we started reading Mary Shelly's Frankenstein. As a result, this week was very focused on life and death and gave us time to think critically about ourselves. As a matter of opinion, there were a few things I personally disliked about his speech. Keep in mind, this is me being very critical and I do, in fact, think Mr. Scott is an amazing speaker as well as an inspirational person, and he conveyed his message in a powerful way. But frankly, I have a problem with the way people talk about suicide. Call it lack of sympathy or tolerance or whatever you may, but where I'm from, suicide is the biggest f*** you to your family, your friends, to your community and to God. It's you telling everyone around you that you're too good for the life you were given, so as opposed to putting in the effort to change it, you're just giving up. There are people out there who would give anything to be in the position you are in right now. As a matter of personal integrity, suicide is the biggest display of weakness a person can have. Seeing as the only person you're smart enough to kill is yourself, suicide is not a strength. If you want to be strong, reach out for the help you need, or better yet, become an example of how other people can overcome the situations they are in. Where I'm from, people don't die from suicide, they die because life was taken away from them. Glendale, my old highschool had the mascot of a falcon and our student body was often referred to as "the flock" and when tragic events occurred, the flock flew together. As a smaller school, we were all family. Just before I moved here, I lost a classmate and very close friend of mine Grayson in a plane crash. Grayson Lambert star soccer player, Josh Lambert 10 years old, McKinley Lambert 15, along with parents John and Robin were all killed on their way back from a baseball game. Their small 6-seater Piper didn't make it back from the game that Saturday morning.
A few months later, another tennis partner and close friend of mine, Paul Nahon, Glendale graduate, died in a climbing accident Long's Peak in the Rocky Mountain National Park. Paul was attending Richmond University and planned to go pro in tennis after college.
When news of the deaths reached Glendale, our remaining 1198 students wore orange and held a vigil around the flagpole in memory of our lost students. That day was different because the flock was missing a few, and it hurt.
Where I'm from, life isn't something we give away freely. We cherish our lives and the lives of others around us. For me, this only strengthens Mary Shelly's message that life is not ours to give or take.
the flock flies together
