PROM IS REALITY ENOUGH FOR ME

With Sarah Lounges
                                                                           
                                                    

SENIOR YEAR SADDENED BY LOSS OF CLASSMATE

Senior year!...    

So this year it has finally happened, I have finally reached the top of the social hierarchy that is Highland High School.  This year is so far proving to be hardest one yet. I have no study halls or blow-off classes, just work, work, work!      

Those who are also seniors know all the stress of it all.  Constantly being bombarded with college applications, dealing with senior pictures, which are ridiculously expensive, and getting around to ordering the commencement cap and gown.  *Sigh.*      

Though I am dealing with all this stuff and sometimes it feels overwhelming, I have really learned to feel grateful for everything I do have.      

This school year started out very tragically when a friend –– Ashley Ritz –– was killed in a car accident, just days before school began.  She was supposed to be a senior this year as well. Her death has really made me think about things.      

It struck home the need to make the most of the precious time we have here on this earth.  Being only 17, I never thought about the possibility of not making it to graduation or college.  I just rushed around always worrying about what would happen tomorrow... but now I have come to realize that just because we are young, we are not guaranteed tomorrow.      

We -- all of us -- need to just take things one day at a time, because everyday could very well be our last, and personally I do not want to waste any more time on worry and being angry or bitter.  My classmate’s death has really changed my attitude toward everything.  I try to be more pleasant with everyone because I do not want the last thing I said to someone to be cruel or mean-spirited.      

As it says in Ephesians 4:26  --  “... Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry...” -- I have really taken that passage to heart.  I now try to work out any fights with people right away, because I do not want tragedy to happen while there is ill will.      

I encourage everyone to think about how short our lives really are and to stop for a moment and evaluate if you are really living it to the fullest extent.  Make sure to make time for the things that are most important in your life, like friends and family, because you do not know when they could be gone forever.      

I would give anything for another day with my friend, to tell her the things that I had never gotten around to saying like – “thanks for always being there for me when I needed you to be.”     

I would like to share with this column’s readers, an anonymous  verse that my dad sent to me, to help me get through the sorrow that I and so many of my fellow students are feeling right now.   

I know it is a little out of the ordinary, but I feel it makes a really good point and the person whomever they were, really hits the nail on the head with their words.   They read... 

“I’m Glad You’re In My Dash” 

 “I read of a man who stood to speak at the funeral of a friend.  He referred to the dates on her tombstone from the beginning...to the end.  He noted that first came the date of birth and spoke the following date with tears, but he said what mattered most of all was the dash between those years.

For that dash represents all the time that she spent alive on earth...and now only those who loved her know what that little line is worth.

For it matters not, how much we own; the cars, the house, the cash.  What matters is how we live and love and how we spent our dash.” 

So think about this long and hard.  Are there things you’d like to change?       

If we could just slow down enough to consider what’s true and real, and always try to understand the way other people feel.  And be less quick to anger, and show appreciation more often.  And love the people in our lives like we’ve never loved before. 

We need to treat each other with respect, and more often wear a smile than a frown...remembering that this special dash might only last a little while. 

So, when your eulogy’s read with your life’s actions to rehash...would you be proud of how you spent your dash?    

Ashley spent her life doing amazing things for people.  She was always cheerful and had a smile to share. She would always be there for her friends when they needed her.  She was one of the most wonderful people I have ever known.   

Ashley will be greatly missed by all who had the good fortune to know her.  I know English class this year is just not the same without her there. And the crowded school hallways feel just a bit more empty with her not in them. And graduation will just feel incomplete without her there to accept her diploma and walk across the stage with the rest of us. 

This month I just wanted to take the time to write about loss, because it is something we all go through, no matter the age, and it is never easy.    

I dedicate this column to Ashley Ritz, who has made a lasting impact on not only my life, but also the lives of countless others.  I only wish I could have told her that.  She will always be remembered. 

My 18th birthday is September 6th and I am SOOOO going out and buying a Lotto ticket that day!   WOW! Quite the rebel, aren’t I?    

          I hope everything at school goes well for everyone this month...myself included! 

                                  Email Sarah Lounges @ sarah@midwestbeat.com

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