I know that everyone at one time or another has had to deal with suicide.  Either your own depressive thoughts, especially as teenagers, or someone else’s rash decision.  My experience with it was when I was in high school.  My parents were going through a nasty divorce and I was under a lot of pressure due to many different aspects.  Weren’t we all in high school?  My father had forgotten my birthday.  By forgotten I mean didn’t even remember the day it was on, which is really bad considering I’m his first born.  Although I don’t speak with him any longer, this among everything else set off the depressing thoughts.  I was home alone and I had actually stood there with the knife to my wrist but in a moment of clarity actually stopped and picked up the phone.  I called an acquaintance of mine who had been somewhat a friend but not someone I hung out with on a regular basis.  To my surprise he actually rushed right over and sat with me, holding me, until my mother got home.  He’s long since moved to another state and I haven’t spoken with him much since then but I will forever appreciate the hour or so he took out of his day to save me.  I don’t have these thoughts anymore and I have the daily struggle to fight off the depression, but learning how to be a positive person is a difficult thing to do.  And without that friend, who knows what really would have happened.

 I bring all of this up only because my sister, who is 16, has recently had to deal with suicide herself.  I am the oldest out of five children, the youngest still being a baby (9 months), and I have the habit of internalizing everything that happens to them.  My sister has never really had to deal with death and for the most part has had a pretty simple life thus far.  Hence why we call her the princess because she tends to get what she wants when she wants it or she’ll irritate you until you give it to her!  This weekend she had a friend, a fellow high school buddy, that committed suicide in front of a few other friends.  Fortunately she wasn’t there but she is forced to face the after math of it.  I don’t really understand how to help her through this, other than being the shoulder to cry on and trying to tell her I understand.  I know what it’s like to be the depressed one and just a few years ago learned what’s like to be the one left with all the questions.  But when you’re still a kid how do you face those life and death questions?  And as an adult how do you help them through it?