Just so you know, this blog is about suicide so if you aren't interested, go ahead and close the window.  Hopefully, you'll take this seriously though.  I believe Vampboy blogged about this a few months ago, but I feel led to do it again.

I've lost 2 friends in the last year to suicide.  Last summer, a high school friend of mine hung himself.  Now, we had grown apart after high school so it had been about 4 years since we last talked.  This made the loss easier to deal with, but I was still shocked to hear the news.

Last night I found out that another friend of mine had taken his own life as well.  This one has affected me much more than the other. 

You see, I was a counselor at a summer camp for the last 4 summers up until this summer.  I met this kid when he was 13.  He had a sister that was about 7.  I grew pretty close to these 2 kids during those summers.  They both had great personalities that made others want to be around them.  His sister became like a daughter or little sister to me.  I would jokingly walk around and act like her bodyguard.

As I said before, I found out last night that he had taken his life just over a week ago.  He was 17.  His sister is about 11 now.  I was in shock because he seemed like such a happy kid.  He was the type of person that seemed to have everything.  I don't know why he did what he did, but it breaks my heart.  His sister always had a smile on her face that just couldn't be wiped off.  It kills me to think that smile probably hasn't been seen in over a week.

So why am I telling you this?  I don't want this kind of thing to happen to anyone else.  Am I foolish enough to think it won't?  No, but I can hope.

If you are considering suicide, please think about the effects your decision will have.  Whether you know it or not, someone out there cares about you deeply.  I know my friend's sister looked up to him.  I can't imagine what she's going through right now.  Don't leave someone you love behind to suffer through that kind of pain.  You might think you can't deal with your life anymore, but you can.  Reach out to someone and talk about it.  Don't be afraid to ask for help.  People will do whatever they can to help you get through your situation.

If you would never think of committing suicide, don't let your friends forget that you care.  Be there to listen when they have problems.  Even if they don't seem like they're dealing with something serious, check up on them.  See how they're doing or if there's anything they want to talk about.

I don't know if that will change anything, but maybe it will.  If I only reach one person, that's fine.  I've done what I could.  Hopefully, you will too.