January 28, 2017
2:30 p.m.
Looking through
snapchats in an effort to procrastinate from doing my homework.“Buzz Buzz” I
open the text message, anticipating a funny meme or joke, but instead I’m
greeted by a news image of a missing person report. An all too familiar face is
on the cover of the report, and it hits me that my friend and coworker has been
missing since Friday night. I quickly go on to twitter, attempting to get all
of the information and answer all the questions that are racing through my
mind.
2:45 p.m.
I find a news article:
“Lake Arrowhead”, “no phone”, “never came back”, “missing”. All the words
appear on the screen and I can’t believe it; I start to panic, I contact my
friend telling them what happened as fear begins to set into my mind. I start
to tell myself that it’s all going to be okay, that people who go missing are
always found alive, that it’s all just an accident, that everything is going to
work out and nothing is really wrong.
5:00 p.m.
I try to
distract myself and reassure myself that it will all work out, that nothing is
wrong. At this point I’ve convinced myself that he’s okay and that they will
find him within the next couple hours; I go about my daily routine and distract
myself from it all.
January 29, 2017
3:47 a.m.
I’m asleep, but
at this time they found him in Lake Arrowhead and a news report comes out that
he has been found.
8:05 a.m.
I’m getting
ready to go to the pool for a Lifeguard interview until “Buzz Buzz”, I just got
a text. I see the preview for the text and it says that “they found him.” I
look at it and feel relieved, thinking that everything is okay because they
found him….until I opened the rest of the text. “Victim found in 30 feet of
water” One, two, three, I hold my breath in hopes that it’s not true.
8:15 a.m.
I arrive to
work, slowly walking through the parking lot with my head hung low, the sun is
out but a gush of wind sends chills through my body. I approach the sliding
doors, carefully deciding where to place my feet as I walk through the doorway.
In the lobby, nothing but the sounds of breathing and sniffles from everyone
staring at their feet while sitting on the cold leather chairs.
8:45 a.m.
We’re all
called into the classroom, and in unison everyone raises from their chairs
drags their feet across the floor. We all file into the room and slouch into
the black rolling chairs, elbows on the table, hand in heads, staring at our
feet. The lady at the front starts to talk to us, but I feel like I’m
underwater listening to the muffled words of the people above. We are all told that
the interviews are canceled due to unforeseen circumstances… but we all know
the real reason why-our friend is dead.
This story is about one of my
friends and co-workers who met an unfortunate and tragic death at a young age.
His death was one that shocked all of us, and left many, including myself,
heartbroken and in tears. We were all confused at the sudden news of his death,
wondering how it all even happened, but more so we continued to ask ourselves
“Why him? Why now? How? Who? How could this have happened?” As the story of his
death began to unfold, more confusion was the only thing present, no closure,
no answers, no reason. But soon I began to see just how big of an impact this
person had on the world and people around him, as posters began to pop up
around the city about this person and the message others were sending out to
the community. I realized that his death did have some positives come out of
it, that his physical absence didn’t mean the ending of his existence in the
world. If anything his death brought many people together and encouraged others
to live a life full of kindness, compassion, and love; although death is never
an event anyone wants to occur, something beautiful can result as others learn
about the life of the deceased individual and all of the people they touched in
the world. The death of Dawson will never be something easy to understand and
he will forever be missed by all, but his compassion has set an example for
others to live a life full of love.
32 comments:
This story really does represent the dark side of death and why it happens. It saddens me to hear someone passing at such a young age and that no one on earth should have to go through this. I like how at the end though it tells how his death brought everyone together and to encourage people to live their lives like they should.
Personally, i didn't know Dawson. once i saw all over social media how many positive and loving things everyone had to say about him and all good people took from the situation i figured out that you don't need to know someone to grieve their death. i'm sorry for your loss. But i like how you turned this unfortunate tragedy into a positive outlook of his life. his compassion has started a revolution. great job.
This must have been such a hard subject for you to write about, I really wish I had known Dawson personally. You did an amazing job sharing this story, throughout the piece I could feel the intensity and emotions going through your mind. Although it was such a tragic event, you're right. People did come together and we were all able to lean on each other during this difficult time.This piece makes us realize that we never know when our last day will be, but we should always live as it was our last.
I remember when I found out about Dawson missing and his death. I didn't know him personally but I was shocked by how he did die so young and too early. I'm so sorry that you had to go through all of that in just two days. One thing I like about your piece is how you do a diary on everything that you were told or what you had found out. I also like how your piece tells the death of Dawson in more of a happy ending by how everyone came together and started to love one another like how Dawson did. Thank you for sharing such a personal experience that you had! -Aryelle Estrada
I didn't personally know Dawson but I do know his sister and it was very sad to see those things pop up on twitter. This was probably so hard for you Lauren to talk about this but he made a big impact on our community. You never really know why people leave this earth when they do but that doesn't always mean you can't carry them on. It was amazing to see "Love like Dawson" when you drove on the freeway and even on the pool deck at our school. This piece is very meaningful too many good job on this!
I never knew Dawson or heard about him until his passing, but it's unfortunate how sometimes in life the people we like and cherish can literally be gone the next day. I'm sorry you had to go through this, from what I heard Dawson seemed to be good guy who had a promising life ahead, it's good to know that people in the community came together after his passing. I hope you and everyone else who knew him can move on and find peace, I really liked how you went into detail about your personal experience, great job!
I did not have the pleasure of knowing Dawson, but from your story I'm so sorry for your loss and I'm positive that he was a magnificent human being and friend. I loved that you told your story in chronological order because it lets us see the emotions that you felt at that moment in time which can be hard to capture for a traumatic event such as this one. Thank you for being so open and portraying the importance of enjoying every second of life that we have because it isn't guaranteed.
I give my condolences to Dawson, a guy who I did not know very well. But from what I've heard and seen, he was one heck of a guy. I'm truly sorry for you because you must've been very close to him. The time placement throughout your piece really impacted it overall and it's tone, it made me very upset. You are a very strong person to write your piece about Dawson. You did and amazing job and I am really sorry for what happened.
Lauren I know this was hard for you to write and I am so sorry for your loss. I knew Dawson through friends and water polo Freshman year and I really appreciate you writing this. When we lose someone we know and are close with, we do not know what to do but one way to deal with it is to write it out and you did an excellent job of that. Thank you for writing your hard experience and sharing it with us.
I enjoy the way this story was presented, having all of your emotions be described as you keep finding out more information about this event. I also enjoyed your optimistic take on death, although it is not a good thing,good things can still come out of it. It's a very good mindset to have in situations like these and a good message to give others.
This piece really hits hard but I think it also shows just how interconnected we as a community all are to just one person. I think you did an incredible job at showing how people and yourself reacted to Dawson going missing as far as checking news articles and and twitter and texting and really just showing how crazy the whole occurrence really was. The time line was a nice addition in bringing the story you told to life. Thank you for sharing your experience, I know it was hard.
My deep condolences for your loss, I never knew Dawson but from what I've seen on social media/news he lived his life with such compassion for others that affected everyone in this small world of ours. The way you started the story expressing each moment of emotion as you were finding out small details of where your friend was so suspenseful yet heartbreaking of how, cliche as it is, to live the fullest out of your life because the next minute isn't guaranteed. (if you had Hall he had this on the clock that really made me appreciate life even more so)
This piece shows how one person can have such a big impact on the people around them. You did an amazing job conveying your feelings each step of the way, which made the story come to life and feel real. I could not imagine going through something like that, but I am glad that you see past the tragedy and evaluate what good it brought into others peoples' lives.
This piece truly captures the importance of life. We will never know how much time each of us exactly has and that is why we should cherish our own lives and the people around us. Also, your piece conveys how much impact one person can have on the people around them. Life isn't eternal and we should all do our best to live a life that we won't regret. - Jerico Dizon
Lauren I also knew Dawson personally and I can relate to the sadness and sorrow that you felt and did feel. I worked and played water polo with him. It really hit deep when I found out that Dawson had passed the morning I went for my job interview where we work and he was not there. Dawson will always be remembered and the long lasting legacy he has on the people he touched. Love like Dawson
Wow, this piece shows that something positive can result from something very negative. I was also shocked by his death because he was very young. I think it is important for us to see the importance of others, and their impact on our lives. The way you described your emotions, as you learned more details about his death, felt very authentic and real. - Madeline Juarez
Thank you so much for sharing this emotional piece with us Lauren, and I want to start out by saying sorry for your tragic loss. What I enjoyed most about this story where the time stamps. These time stamps allowed us to see how your emotions where running wild and changing frequently. Also, the way you described how you walked into work slow with your feet dragging gave us a great mental picture of how you carried yourself that day and how sad you truly were. Overall, I loved how this story demonstrated how our community was able to unite as one and celebrate Dawson's amazing life despite the tragic loss.
I'm really sorry for your loss, I can only imagine how hard it was for you to compose this piece. I liked how you structured it with the date and time and how you felt as the time passed. You incorporated details that came straight from your emotions which gives an understanding of how you felt. Once again I'm sorry for your loss and good job.
thank you for sharing this story, it must have been tough writing this piece yet you were brave enough to do it to express the meaning behind what you were going through. This piece is truly heart-melting but ends with a sort of optimism. I pray that things will get better for you and the family and friends of Dawson.
This was such an emotional piece and I admire your courage to share this experience with us. Your story really highlights the idea of how we should cherish each and every moment with our loved ones like it's our last because tomorrow is never promised. This piece truly shows how a single individual can bring together the community as a whole in times of need, which is captured in such vivid details and emotions. Overall, you did a great job sharing your story with us.
I enjoy how you set up your story with the different time stamps. Thank you for writing about this sensitive subject and even though I did not know Dawson, I see that he was a great man and really made a difference in other peoples life.
This piece was very well written and the way you described how Dawson's way of living is still alive today even after he has passed I felt was very great and true, I also thought that you could feel the wide range of emotions throughout the piece and was very well written.
I agree that death is unavoidable and that it could happen to anybody unexpectedly. It's also something that no one wants to ever happen and, if we could, most of us would wish for eternal life. I also agree on the fact that death does bring people together and I think this is because we are connected through this one person that we cherish the most. And I think you showed this well in your writing because you were able to show how death is not always a negative thing.
I admire your courage to write about something as tragic as the death of a friend. It is not always easy to see the bright side in these kinds of situations but you have shown that it is possible. I like the way you wrote this like a diary entry with the time and day, it gives the reader a sense of time frame that all of this happened. It conveyed a really good morality to always live our lives happily.
This piece was absolutely beautiful. Your story of how you found out about the shocking and upsetting discovery made me empathize and hurt with you, then your positive reflection at the end left me with an inspiring message that I won't forget. The change in structure effectively livens the extremely sad story. I was very much moved, thank you for this piece.
Takes some true courage to write about a death of a friend I don't think I would have the strength to share that with people. It's not easy to see the bright side in these things but you turned it into something great and shared it with us. The way you wrote this like a diary entry, it gives the reader a sense of time. Truly something great here.
This story was so beautifully written. You made the audience feel your pain through your vivid way of writing. You also made me feel your courage and strength in what I can only understand as a hard time for you. Thank you for this.
All though I didn't know Dawson all that well his death still saddens me. No one that young she be taken so early in life. It's amazing to see how many people he has touched and lives he has changed.
All though I didn't know Dawson all that well his death still saddens me. No one that young she be taken so early in life. It's amazing to see how many people he has touched and lives he has changed.
This is a terribly saddening story as we realize that deaths like the one Dawson has can happen to anyone, its unseen and unexpected but hopefully stories like these help bring us together as people. I could feel the stress and anxiety in the words hoping that your friend was still alive until I realized that this was a true story. I offer my condolences to the friends and family of Dawson and hope you all can recover from the grief. Powerful story.
This is a great piece of writing about death, where you talk about there is still life after death. The message of the story is very good. The message that i got from this story was that we should live our loves impacting, influencing other people's lives because after we die, only the memories, influences, impacts and the things we did for people are the only ones that will remain in this world that will stay "alive".
Truly a tragic event and I'm sorry for what had happened but you did a great job in expressing your feelings towards the event. Capturing the true meaning of a death in a positive way was amazing, instead of letting it bring you down, it brought others and yourself up. The structure of the paragraphs which set the setting was a great way to organize every part of how you felt and what has happened during the time.
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