Stand With Me

Hi everyone. I am Giselle Tibs, and I am finally starting my blog.

Sometimes in life, all it takes is one event to make you question everything. Something that happened yesterday has shaken me down to my very core, and I felt as if it should be shared. After all, a story that is not shared isn't a story, but a memory. I've been thinking a lot about our lives, and maybe it's time that I do something to change it. People are losing connection, losing themselves, and losing their families everywhere, sometimes not only physically, but metaphorically. This post is dedicated to the loss mentally, the disconnect from society. The isolation. The feeling as if you have no way out. This post is dedicated to Jordan and Jonah.

I will never pretend to know the feeling of losing someone. Never. It is a burden, mentally and physically, that one has to carry. However, grief isn't picky. It overwhelms you and threatens you and turns you into someone you never thought you would have to be. Being surrounded by grief is the same thing. The sadness looms in the air and weighs you down, the guilt of being happy always prodding in the back of your head. That's how I felt yesterday. Because as I was continuing my life, there was someone who had just taken theirs.

It all started yesterday morning. I was in my first-period class. Awake barely, sarcastic plenty. My teacher came in and started talking. It wasn't until the words tragedy and important were spoken that I knew something was happening. An email came, and the words hit me before I could see them. A student dead. Taken by suicide at home. Throughout the day, the news would come in waves. Sometimes I would be fine, sometimes I would break down. The fear and sadness were crushing, and I came to realize something by the end of the day.

People everywhere are suffering. They feel as if they don't matter, as if their lives aren't important. People are so depressed that they have to physically hurt themselves, and kill themselves. As if that were the only option they had. We are so wrapped up in ourselves that we don't take a moment to see the world and other people for who they are. This is why this is happening. People need to love and receive openly, to know that there is someone out there who cares about them. If you are reading this right now, I want you to know I care about you. I love you for who you are, and you don't need any validation from anyone to be a good person. You are beautiful. Strong. Imaginative. Helpful. Full of light. Interesting. Most of all, you have a voice. A voice that can carry through rivers and rooftops and cities and stars. You have a voice that will be heard.

Please hear me when I say no one deserves this. No one deserves to come home to see their son dead. No one deserves to have a sister in ninth grade whose life will never be the same. No one deserves a life of pain. Stand with me and hear me when I say you can help those who are trapped. Hear me when I say Jonah and Jordan deserve to be remembered.

Giselle

Suicide Hotline Number: 988