My heart is numb. Over people, I barely even knew. Over the people that are no longer living in the same world as us. Over the people that decided our world is too much for them to handle anymore. Over the people who took their own lives.

America is hearing more and more about suicide every day. Unfortunately, we hear more about people taking their own lives as opposed to spreading ideas of prevention and awareness. Enough is enough. We need to do something to stop the rising rates of suicide in our country and help those who are fighting depression before it is too late.

When I found out my childhood friend chose to leave our world, my heart shattered. I barely spoke to her, yet I found my grief reaching unbearable heights. Her passing affected everyone she's ever spoken to or encountered in her life. I realized that when people die, many others express the love they have for that person and showcase the beauties they've developed inside and out before their final days.

I realize that this is all apart of the grieving process, but I question how often do we actually show this love before their final breaths? We need to do a better job of expressing love in our world. We need to do a better job of highlighting the beauties of each and every person, and of life itself. We need to do a better job of making sure we love everyone around us since we never know who might be suffering.

The happiest people you see in your life may cry every night behind closed doors.

I also believe that schools need to do a better job of educating us about suicide prevention and how to detect any behaviors that might lead to a person committing the irreversible act that no person would wish upon their greatest enemies.

According to American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the United States and the 2nd leading cause of death among teens. Did you know that for every one person that committed suicide, there are 25 other people that attempted to commit too? Do you know the signs a person shows when they're about to leave us forever?

These are all facts I learned after my childhood friend left our world. Frankly, I think that I should have been thoroughly educated in this way earlier in my life.

Most high schools require that we take one, single semester of health throughout our four years. In that health class, we touch on suicide for only a day or two. Is that really enough? Would it really hurt to educate students more on suicide prevention if it meant saving a life?

In school, we spend more time learning about trigonometric functions and mitosis than we do about preventing things that are so prominent in the lives of teens today. There is a problem with that.

We learn that suicide is irreversible and we always hear that the bad things are temporary. But, how much does everyone truly know about how the people fighting with extreme stress and depression feel?

The stigma around suicide makes the number of reports lower than they're supposed to be. But those numbers are already high enough. Nobody deserves to feel that their life is no longer worth living. We need to start making our world beautiful again to show them that they are so important.

We can't reverse the act of the ones that are no longer with us. But we can prevent others from choosing to go to another world.

Be the person to reach out to those who are struggling and be their lifesaver. Take the time to express your love and compassion to everyone the way the Lord once did. Please, I beg of you, do your part in ending suicide.