At the beginning of our 8th grade school year, our English teacher told us a story about her husband and their daughter. She said that her husband was telling their daughter that she was made of the same matter of stars. Thus making her a star. The name of my friend who had committed suicide was Aydin. He and I may never have been “stars” in our school, but to me, he was a star. Aydin was someone I always looked up to. I trusted him, confided in him and knew that I could always count on him to tell me the truth when everyone else was too scared to hurt me. We both knew that even if we were in a tough spot and weren’t talking, that if either of us needed to talk, we would drop everything to help each other. My friendship with him was one I will never forget.
Being a “star” doesn’t mean you need to be a celebrity or popular. You may not be a “star” to the world, but you can be a star to one person. And that can change that one person's life. Just because not everyone has popularity, social media, or a large group of friends, doesn’t mean that we aren’t all special in our own way. Everyone has something that they’re good at and that they can be stars at. For some people that may be academic, athletic, or even just a hobby. For example, you may be exceptionally good at math, or maybe a track-star, or even perhaps really good at taking pictures and creating a story for those pictures. Whatever it is you are passionate about, that is part of who you are. That is part of what makes you a “star”.
Aydin taught me a very valuable lesson in our friendship. He taught me to not be afraid of being myself. He taught me to venture outside of my comfort zone and to be who I am and not who others want me to be. I had always been insecure and scared of what people thought of me. Then I met Aydin. He introduced me to the confident and outgoing side of myself. If someone made a rude remark about me, he was always there to defend me. If he wasn’t, he made sure I was well trained on how to handle it. He would make up an insult and teach me how to deal with it properly. He would always tell me to be myself and not care what our peers said about me. The only opinion that mattered was my own. I’ve learned to ask myself, “Am I happy with who I am? Do I like the person I’ve become?” If the answer to either of those is no, then there is something that I am doing that isn’t making me happy. If that is the case, then I’ve learned to reflect and decide what I want to work on. I would continue this until the answer became yes.
Change isn’t going to happen overnight. It is a process that takes time and effort. You have to be willing to change. You have to want to change for YOU. Not others. If you don’t want that, then you’re only going to end up fighting with yourself and creating a conflict in your life. So be a star in your own life. Write your own story and don’t let anyone tell you who you can and cannot be. Live your life, and remember to always love yourself and who you are.
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THE MEMORY OF YOU...US...MY 8TH GRADE YEAR
Non-FictionMy name is Zoie. I am a highschool student and this is the story of how I lost my friend to suicide and my hardships. I hope this gets out into the world and helps others. Will try to update weekly with what I have. Content and trigger warning: this...
