Sudden Death.

An event that causes me to remember that I am vincible. A word that reminds me I am not ever promised another day on this earth. That no human knows when their last breath will take place.

I’ll admit, it’s scary.

Knowing that the fight you had with someone you love was over something silly that turned into something big, could be the last thing you remember about them. Knowing any second in your car could end your life. Knowing someone could walk into your classroom or a movie theatre, and that would be the last breath you took.

I was ten years old when my mom called my dad’s house, 2,860.7 miles away, in Washington State. She told me she had something to tell me, “Erin, Kristen died today, it was an accident.” Shock took over my entire mind. I was confused, upset, and I told her I did not want to know what happened. At the time, I had no idea how my four year old neighbor could have passed away.

A few days later my mom had come to Washington to ride the plane home to Virginia with me. Before we left, we took a ferry ride, and during the ride, my mom told me she needed to explain what happened to Kristen. She said she could not risk me going back home and hearing people talk about the death and getting upset.

Sophomore year of high school, “There was an accident last night that killed someone in my neighborhood?” I watched the news in shock. Somebody just lost their son, their best friend, and all within a matter of minutes.

I was a junior in high school when I found out one of my classmates was murdered. He was robbed and shot. He died within minutes. The unnerving pain surged through me as I imagined his weak face gasping for breaths and wishing someone could help him. How could someone be evil enough to kill someone else with no good reason but to rob them? How could someone take away a son, brother, cousin, uncle, friend, and classmate?

Another time, “What? A man jumped out of a moving car and killed himself?” I said as I listened to my mom, “Yes, he had mental issues and he took his own life."

I am 21, and heard this four months ago: “My dad passed away yesterday morning…” Says one of my best friends. A few days later I went to the visitation, and then proceeded to the funeral the day after. I do not understand why someone so special lost his life when he had a wife who just found out she had breast cancer, a daughter who was her daddy's little girl and a son who follows in his dad's footsteps.

Life, it gives you more times to grieve than you could have ever imagined. It also gives you lessons to learn, and constant reminders. I have gotten a lot of reminders not to take one moment for granted, not to say something bad or hurtful instead of something good and kind, not to let go, and not to give in and definitely not to create a situation of regret.

One last reminder that sudden death takes place in a moment you cannot control.