Death

Got to know of my husband’s classmate who died unexpectedly last Friday through the school’s email blast. Although we were not that close to him, but he was one of the rare few whom my husband actually interacted more with. I even had dinner with him before.

He seemed quite confident ,talkative and a bit competitive about grades. Not the coolest guy on earth but he seemed quite at ease with himself.

Yet it was reported in the news that he suffered from depression and went missing for several days before being found in Lake Michigan. When Chicago is currently undergoing our brutal winter. What could have gone through his mind when he decided to drown himself in the icy waters?

It is shocking enough to hear of someone our age dying unexpectedly. But to commit suicide? Especially when he is in the prime of his life, studying in one of the top schools in USA,  with a very bright future ahead. It is definitely harder to accept than for him to die from an accident for instance. Because if it is an accident, it means he might still have led a happy life until the unfortunate accident. But to suffer from depression and to ultimately end your life in the cold waters, it is plain sad. It means he was probably unhappy for quite a long time. And probably no one knew about it. It must be so much harder for his poor parents to accept, to imagine their son unhappy in a foreign country without their knowing.

But what is sadder than him ending his life prematurely  is that the earth still continues revolving without his existence. For others, life still goes on. One day after the news of about him broke, his project group mates started seeking new team mates to replace him. And I’m pretty sure none of his classmates were aware that he had gone missing before he was found dead. Everyone was just busy with schoolwork and recruitment. Such is the sad reality of life. RIP.