Don't Do It

Okay, peeps, listen up. This is important, it’s about your life. Yes, yours. When someone decides it’s time to end it all, the decision has profound and far reaching effects. You may think that this is the only choice left to you, but it’s not. It is not the only choice. Maybe I should say this again… It is not the only choice. Yeah, I get it, I know, you’re in pain, your life is difficult, things are too much for you. Checking out is not the answer. So what is the answer? That depends, but here’s a list to start with: 1. Talk to someone. There’s not a problem in the world that you might have that someone else hasn’t already dealt with. You’re not the first, the only, or the last to have this in your life. 2. Hang on. Meditate. Pray. Go to an amusement park. Whatever the hell it takes, do something. 3. Do not hurt yourself. Hurting yourself hurts everyone around you, it hurts the world. And yes, people will be upset. Even people you never expected to care will be devastated. 4. Talk to someone. Hang on. Do not hurt yourself. That’s really all I can say on the matter. I know depression can be profound, I know it can impact your life in ways that cripple. But there’s true light in this world, and there’s true happiness to be found. If you’re not here, you won’t find it. So, talk to someone. Hang on. Please. Dedicated to the memory of my former student, 2012.