R.I.P. ... so damn young

So today was interesting... slept in until noon, watched movies with Talie, etc. Nasty email from my mom: "So help me, if you don't get in or don't get a scholarship because you didn't complete the applications or send things in on time, you will have a miserable summer. Forget the rest of Fermi, GS camp, etc. You'll be working the max hours at Dominicks and walking."

And then at about, eh, 8:15 I get a phone call from Megan.

Andy Mueller died sometime this weekend. We don't know any details.

So that's one of those "holy crap" moments. Wait, he's a senior, in my class, holy shit. He's dead.

Colleen G. called too. (Our whole Benet everyone-knows-everyone's-business thing, unofficial phone tree I guess.) I don't think I've had a conversation that was so much "oh my God," "holy shit," "what are we supposed to do?" and various curses.

It's weird when you think about it. I mean, it's not like we were really good friends, but I've talked to him a few times and he's really a nice guy. And he's dead. A senior in high school, 18, and he's dead. About 4 months to graduation and he's dead. I mean, like gone.

I saw him the week before finals and he looked alright, mostly. I mean, yeah, he had his cane, but that was normal. He didn't look like he was going to die.

Shit.

And suddenly, my problems don't seem so terrible. At least I'm alive.

Oh my God...

I feel really bad for his family and his best friends. I would totally suck to clean out his room.

That's so damn young.

How are we supposed to react? What do we do?

Kinda puts life in perspective. Every moment of life is valuable, even when it sucks. Remember that.