3.4 Brittney Kelshaw Writing 1

He’s Gone.

I was fifteen years old, sitting on AOL, chatting with my friends when my mom called me up to the kitchen to tell me that my sixteen year old best friend was dead. 

He was the funniest kid I've ever met. And one of the most influential. He’s the reason I’m in marketing today. He once told me “I don’t watch television for the show, I watch it for the commercials, because that’s where the good stuff is.” From that day forward, I’ve never skipped a commercial.

He passed on July 13, 2005 and the day still haunts me. A young life, who had so much left to accomplish and world to change was gone too soon, all for a technicality. I’ll remember the flood of emotions that surged through my body followed by the instant emptiness that took over. 

3,000 adolescents die each day. Did you realize the number was that high? I didn't. Not until it hit home, literally. I wish there was a reason, a way to explain what happened and why. I’ve spent years searching for answers and yet all I ever end up with is Kenney Chesney, Who You’d Be Today on repeat. 

I still find myself talking to him, like the last night we spent together sitting around the campfire sharing our dreams. I see him shine down through the clouds and I know he’s there, protecting me. Although, I still find myself daydreaming because “I see your smile, I see your face, I hear you laughing in the rain.” I’ll miss you until the bitter end.