Sometimes as a young person, I honestly believe that life is everlasting. This is not true. I forget how quickly life can change or end in a second. It sometimes takes a tragedy to remind us that life is short and death is inevitable. Most 20-year-olds do not understand this, but it is an important concept for us to keep in the back of our minds.
I recently just lost a pet in probably the most tragic way possible. My little Indian ringneck parrot was such a sweet girl, and at 2-years-old, her death was completely unexpected. Some people that do not have pets might just think, "it's just a bird," but any pet owner will know something like that takes a toll on you. I remember my dad telling me that it happened before I could go find out on my own. He said, "Kayla, there is no way I can say this easily but Koko is dead." I think I've been going through DABDA (the five stages of grief) about 20 times a day since I found out. Especially bargaining. Lots of bargaining.
What is the point of my story? It's that I learned something from my dearly departed's death, and I want everyone who reads this to learn this very same lesson. I learned that life is precious, and you need to keep everything you love and treasure it. I learned that if you want something, go get it. Please do not take a single breath, friendship, family member, or challenge for granted. Sometimes it takes a tragedy for us 20-year-olds to come back down to earth and remember exactly that. So maybe if I share my story others similar to me can learn the lesson I had to learn.
Another lesson I learned was that when tragedy strikes, you have to consider other people involved, and realize that it is not all about you. Be there for others grieving, and be strong. The last thing you want to do when dealing with loss is to also lose yourself. I have luckily not had to deal with loss often up until this point, but this reminded me that it happens. I realized that loss is something that people do not talk about a lot until it happens because it is pointless. You will never be prepared to lose a loved one, but I'm willing to share my experience to help others that may be grieving too.
It gets better if you let it.
If you let yourself live again, and let go of guilt.
If you let go of anger, hate, and blaming.
If you love yourself, and those still here.
Those are the only pointers I can give you. I can tell you those things, and when it's your time, you will be able to let go and continue to live. You can't escape death, but you do have control over your life.
