2018, Madison Pech, HWRA, Fremont HS

March of sophomore year, life is going pretty great, I had just turned 16, got my driver’s license, a car, a boyfriend (Austin), friends, and good grades. I liked my classes and was about to start my first job. Life seemed to be going well. Everything seemed great, then something terrible happened.

On March 19, 2016, I got the worst news of my life so far. My Austin died. My boyfriend was gone, just like that. We were so close. I was texting him probably just minutes before he had his grand-mal seizure and left his body.

I only knew him for a short 3 months and 13 days, but we were so close we had a relationship, I loved him and he loved me. His passing is honestly the hardest thing I have ever gone through. I still grieve to this day, and I’m a senior in high school. I will probably grieve forever. I miss him so much.

To help me get through this, and have resilience I would say these things helped me the most: talking, writing, getting distracted and praying. At the beginning, talking helped me the most, even though it was mostly crying. It’s still good to talk if you want someone to listen to you.

Journaling makes me feel a lot better. It lets me get out my thoughts and work them through. if you aren’t ready to work them through then wait until you are before you journal. But just having a safe place to put your thoughts and work it through helps a lot. If you are afraid someone might read it then burn it.

Getting your mind off of the thoughts that make you feel bad actually helps. Even though it is just temporary it’s still a moment when you don’t notice the pain. Go out with friends, exercise, bowl, ride a bike, do something to not be in constant pain all the time.

And finally praying it took me a little longer to finally start praying again. But if you pray, be honest with God, let God know how you feel, talk to God as if God was your friend. Even if you don’t believe in God it still might help. It is like working things out in your journal, I write my prayers down in my journal, it helps me feel a ton better.

Philippians 4:6 Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.

But just remember God is powerful, be careful what you wish for.

If you are grieving, suicidal, or just have a hard time dealing with certain challenges in your life I recommend these things to help you be resilient.