On July 20th, 2017, Chester Bennington, the lead vocalist of the numetal band Linkin Park, was found dead in his Los Angeles home at the age of 41. He committed suicide by hanging.
Linkin Park was a very successful band with hits like "Crawling", "In The End", "What I've Done", and "Breaking The Habit". The band found a lot of success throughout the years and won 2 Grammy Awards in 2002 and 2006 for Best Hard Rock Performance and Best Rap/Sung Collaboration, respectively.
This article is not about how successful of a band they were, though. This article is about the impact of Chester Bennington taking his own life, how death doesn't discriminate, and how your life has more of an impact than you think.
Should've stayed, were the signs, I ignored?
This is the opening line to their song, "One More Light" off their newest album of the same name. The song is about, according to member Mike Shinoda, "The point of the song is that through something really, really traumatic…one of the most important things you can do is to let people know that you care". While performing on Jimmy Kimmel Live! they dedicated their performance of the song to Chris Cornell, the lead singer of the band Soundgarden, who took his own life in May. This song has even more relevance than ever, now that Chester is no longer in this world.
Can I help you, not to hurt, anymore?
When someone we know is really hurting, we want to help them as best we can. Bennington has suffered with depression, substance abuse, and was abused as a child. Those around him wanted to help, sadly, it was too late.
We saw brilliance, when the world, was asleep
This song was actually written about a friend of the band's that died from cancer. Even though only those around their friend were impacted by their death, they still had an impact on their lives. There are over 7 billion people on this great, big, beautiful planet we live on. You might think you're life is insignificant, but you have had an impact on so many people. Chester had an impact on so many individuals, including me.
There are things that we can have, but can't keep
There will come a time when we have to leave this planet, and be at rest. That includes those around us, it's so sad to think about but we can't live forever. We have to hold on to those we love while they are hear. Chester's death was so unimaginably sudden, he was the last person we all expected to die right now. I thought he was going to live forever, sadly, I was wrong.
If they say, who cares if one more light goes out, in the sky of a million stars, it flickers, flickers
Imagine our lives are lightbulbs, 7 billion lightbulbs, when our light goes out, we die. Again, that makes you feel like you insignificant, but your light going out makes other lights flicker, because you being gone has an impact on how their light keeps shining. No one is insignificant.
Who cares if someone's time runs out, if a moment is all we all, we're quicker, quicker
Who cares if one more light goes out, well I do
When our lights go out, others will feel that impact. Chester's light went out, my Nana's light went out, my dog's light went out, one of my fellow classmates in my graduating class's light went out, and a quiet, sweet, kind boy from my high school's light went out. All those events caused my own light to flicker. Don't think you're life is meaningless because someone out there will miss you.
The reminders, pull the floor, from your feet
When my Nana died, everything from gardening to sweaters to reading reminded me of her. Those reminders hurt because I knew that she was gone, and that cancer sucks. My Nana was an amazing woman who taught me to work hard, use my brain, and love others. Losing her was one of the worst things that ever happened to me. Seeing my mother lose her own mother made me even more scared to lose my mom. It still hurts, all these years later. Also, I used to listen to Linkin Park's music when I was sad, now, I get sad listening to their music, it reminds me of how fast life can change.
In the kitchen, one more chair than you need
Denial, the first stage of grief. It's like a safe zone from reality. we think it isn't true that someone we love died. It's even harder when you know that they are dead, that you still try to live your life as if they are still here. Like setting up a chair for them when you know they aren't going to be sitting down with you. A lot of his fans are still in denial, it just hurts too much.
And you're angry, and you should be, it's not fair
Hearing that Chester, my Nana, and my dog died was exactly that feeling, why must the good die young? Why must those who impact others die? Why do they have to die? Why can't they live forever? Why is life so unfair? These questions hurt, we hate asking them, but we end up asking them anyway.
Just cause you can't see it, doesn't mean it isn't there
Even though this song is about someone dying of cancer, this line is extremely relevant to depression. Depression doesn't have a "look", you can't tell by looking at someone that they are depressed. To us fans, it looked Chester Bennington's demons were behind him. Sadly, we were wrong.
Chester Bennington was one of my childhood icons, his band's music helped me so much throughout my life. When my Nana died, I turned a lot to their music to comfort myself from the pain of one of my heroes being gone. I couldn't imagine my life without him. I thought about how when I'm older with my own kids, I would show them their music, and so they can see how amazing of a performer he was. My heart is still broken from the news. My thoughts and prayers go out to his family, the LP family, and the music community. He had such a profound impact on the music industry and the lives of many. Indeed, right now, thousands of lights are flickering for him.
Now, you, the reader, what I want you to take away from this is that you are important. Your life matters, you have a voice, feelings, talents, abilities, and such amazing qualities that make you who you are. People love you, care about you, want the best for you, and will miss you when you're gone.
There is always help, and most importantly, SUICIDE IS NEVER THE ANSWER.
If you or someone you love has suicidal thoughts please call the National Suicide Hotline at 1-800-273-8255
