My "aha" Moment

My "aha" moment was last year on this day.  This is the time where I learned how a community can come together can support each other after a tragedy.  My friend Austin committed suicide on this day last year and it was a giant loss for his friends, his family, and the entire school/community.  Instead of taking the grief and putting a negative spin on it, the people of the community rallied together in many ways including creating t-shirts and bracelets with his name, his football number (43) and his lacrosse number (14).  That Friday is when I really learned how a community can become a family.  That day at school, everyone wore black and orange, our school colors.  There was not a person who wasn’t wearing black or orange, even those who did not know him.  During the football game that night, we had a white out to represent Austin and the life of joy that he lived.  Directly after the game there was a candlelight vigil where the entire school gathered on the football field around his number and name that had been painted on the ground in the middle of the field.  We shared a lot of memories, a lot of laughs, and a lot of tears but we got through the pain together.  We are not just a school or a community, WE ARE A FAMILY. J