Whether it be someone famous or one of your closest relatives, each and every one of us have been impacted by the death of someone who has passed before we felt it was their time. Especially when you yourself are young, it is something very difficult to comprehend.
Just last year, the entire community of Bergen County, New Jersey, heard the devastating news that a freshman boy from Bergen Tech tragically passed away from a food allergy. That boy, Virtyt Kelmendi, was one of the most inspiring people I have ever met in my life. He was one of about 20 eager-eyed freshmen I met while mentoring the Law and Justice class during my junior year of high school as a way of offering guidance as their peer. His dynamic personality left a lasting impression the moment he introduced himself as “Virtyt Kelmendi, otherwise known as the future president.” And I’m sure, if given the chance, he really would have become our president someday.
Not only was he confident and determined, he was also kind-hearted and quite the comedian. Not a class period went by where he wasn’t making everyone giggle (while also slightly annoying the teacher, although she couldn’t help but laugh herself). He was an active member of Student Council, National Junior Honor Society, and was so focused on his future that he proudly posted pictures of himself meeting with the Chairman of the Constitutional Court of Albania just weeks before he left us.
When news of his death reached our school, students from every grade level and teachers from all different departments were grief-stricken. It’s nearly impossible to come to terms with the fact that you will never see him walking through the hallways, always surrounded by a group of friends, or sitting in his seat in class again. How could a boy with a heart of gold not even be able to see his fifteenth year of life? The most confusing part of it all was that he passed after a trip to Applebee’s with his friends. His food allergies to gluten and flour were so extreme that taking just a bite of his friend’s chicken, that was fried in flour and oil, sent him into an acute asthma attack that made his heart stop twice. After being sent to the hospital, he was proclaimed brain dead due to the lack of oxygen to his brain from the time it took to transport him from the restaurant to the hospital. The fact that the life of such a vibrant young soul was taken that way is something that my friends and I still question and find extremely unfair to this day. Sitting at his funeral, watching his mother break down and cry out for her son was one of the hardest things to watch and is something that still haunts me to this day.
The overwhelming confusion, denial, anger and outright sadness that is felt when someone goes too soon is, unfortunately, something that we know all too well. You can’t help but wonder what their life, what everyone’s lives, would be like if they had been given the opportunity to live just a little bit longer.
As teenagers, we all think that we are invincible. We hear of young people passing away every single day, but we never believe that it could happen to us or someone we know. No matter how much we think we have it all figured out, we don’t know what tomorrow or the day after that could bring. There were many occasions when I wished I could have spent just one more class period with him and let him know what an amazing person I thought he was. But as time has gone on, I have come to terms with the fact that Virtyt’s f14 years were better than many people’s entire lifetimes. Although we all wish he was still here, I know for a fact he is in a better place, being the Prez that he is, making those around him so very happy.
This article is dedicated to Virtyt Kelmendi of Garfield, New Jersey, his family, and FARE (Food Allergy Research and Education), an organization that has been working to decrease the number of deaths due to food allergies.
