A Student Response From:
Jessie
When there is tragedy in your life, you seems to gain a different perspective on life. Maybe that perspective was always there or maybe that tragedy actually changed the way to live. Recently tragedy struck my life, losing two close relatives at the same time to a plane accident. As I see no change, others around me have told me I have changed. That perspective of life is that of not caring or going about my day to day, as nothing really matters. What I believe is something completely different. It is not that I do not care but that some of those insignificant issues do not matter as much. I really enjoy your final “Presto Manifesto”. “Seems to me like there is more stopping than beckoning goodness. I am figuring out how to get out of its way.” I think this is very fitting with my situation and trying to figure out how to get out of its way. I am also trying to navigate my emotions at work and school with positive emotions so that I do not not lose sight of what is important to me.
Comments 2
Woah, Jessie, that is intense. I’m sorry you are having to navigate this right now. I think you are doing great, even if it feels like sometimes apathy is the best answer to just keep going.
Jessie,
Loss is so hard and can feel like the end of the world. My family and I had to put down our 18 year old dog, one we’ve had since he was 10 weeks old, just a week ago. It feels impossible to navigate. I too, can not afford to lose what’s important to me, like my relationships and education, because of this storm. The only way I could think to navigate it was to leave it. I packed up my most used belongings and went to stay elsewhere, somewhere that didn’t remind me every second of the best friend and sibling I had just lost. I felt guilt for leaving my family behind, they weren’t able to escape this like I was. But the environment had a group affect. Just when I would stop thinking about this loss for a moment, I’d wander into another room of the house and find someone who was upset. Our emotions were contagious, and we were hurting for not just ourselves, but each other.
All loss isn’t the same, and I believe that’s why it’s hard to navigate. Sometimes I wonder, why can’t I stop crying over my dog, when I barely shed more than 3 tears over my grandpa that passed a few months ago? Losing my grandpa made me think that loss didn’t affect me anymore, I had become numb to it. And that made this storm feel even colder.
But emotions, even the hard ones, the ones that make you just want to scream, are good. Because at least you’re feeling something. At least you’ve gotten through another day.