Loss In A Small Town

Once a week, we're supposed to blog about something related to our lives at Ohio Northern University. As many people in my class know, I commute from home. My life at Ohio Northern University revolves around my friends, class, my dogs, my parents, my sister and more, most of which have been a part of my life since high school. I graduated from Ada High School in May of 2011 with a class of 54 people. I knew everyone in my high school, a lot of people in junior high and even some elementary school students. We had classes in a kindergarten through twelfth grade building, competed in multiple varsity sports and extra-curricular activities and many of our parents had attended the school before us.

As a community, inside and outside of that school, we share joy and happiness, tears and sadness. Unfortunately, this past week we had tears.

(L to R) Austin and my sister, Caity

Sometime before my freshman year of high school, a family moved to Ada from Lima. They had four children: Kelsey, Holly, Alex (who was in my grade) and Austin (who was in my sister's grade). Some of you may know Austin, he worked in the dining hall his senior year of  high school. My sister became close friends with Austin from the beginning. I can remember him coming to my house with Caity and her friends and me yelling at them for being too loud, distracting me from a book or talking on the phone with one of my friends. I can remember him shooting a marshmallow gun at people at the Harvest and Herb Festival, but never getting in trouble for it because everyone loved him. I can remember him being friends with everyone, always being the first one to tell a joke or stick up for a younger kid at the pool who was being bullied. I can remember sitting with him when I was a lifeguard and he was stuck telling kids to go down the slide. I can remember talking to him this summer about all of the things he was doing at college, what he was going for and how his summer had been going. 

I can remember all of these things. But, as much as I can remember, Austin is gone.

My sister called me on Wednesday night, telling me that Austin had been in a longboarding accident. He had been put in the hospital and his brain was swelling. They had induced him into a coma. She was terrified. I remember telling her it would be okay, but I was wrong. Friday, his parents had to make the difficult decision of taking him off of life support. He was taken off that night. By Saturday afternoon, he was gone.

It's hard to imagine someone that had such an amazing life, one that really brightened those who were around them, being gone. It's hard to see my sister and my friends from high school be heart broken over the loss of such a beautiful person. It was so hard to call my best friend from high school who joined the military and is currently stationed in Pensacola that he was gone. 

As horrible as this situation is though, I've learned something. Appreciate every moment, every person, every blessing you've been given. Live your life as something to be proud of. Change people's days, be that person that can make someone smile when everything is going wrong. Be more like Austin. 

Tomorrow I'll be going to his viewing. Tomorrow, I'll have to face his family and my friends. Tomorrow, more tears will be shed than I could ever imagine. Tomorrow, just like I have every day since Friday, I'll ask myself again and again why it had to be him.

But today, I'll remember this kind boy who changed everyone's lives and made Ada a better place.