Death

I bet from the title of this blog post you're all wondering why I would write about something like this. However, death has been an apparent piece of my life at Union Catholic lately...not only have I been learning about death in my Christian Life class, but the UC community has gone through tough times over the past several weeks, as many family members and friends have passed away.

In Religion, the past few chapters we've been studying have had to do with death. At first I thought to myself, "this is so morbid...why am I learning about this?!" But in reality, it has helped me comprehend the process of death, the different ways of handling of it, and understand why death happens. My teacher Sister Irma has really taught us that death is a significant part of life. It comes unexpectedly and affects us forever. There are different stages for those who know death is coming, such as denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and finally, acceptance. The two movies that we are watching in correlation with our study and that demonstrate these stages are "A Shining Season" and "Tuesdays with Morrie."

Several deaths have occurred at UC recently, including the wife of Mr. Gresco, the grandfather of Mr. Luciano, the father of Mrs. Addison, and many grandparents of students. I really believe that the UC community is a great family to be a part of, whether in dealing with successes or with losses. Everyone reaches out to each other and offers their thoughts and prayers. Students and faculty members alike attend funeral services for those who have passed, and really unite together when needed most. As a school, we pray for so many different people everyday. It's not just a habit of ours, it's a constant way of life.

One particular death that has stuck out to me is the recent death of the 17 year old boy from Roselle Park. On Saturday night, only about a half hour later, I drove down the same road that he got into an accident on. "That could have been me," I said to myself. While I am praying for the boy, all those involved, and his family, I am taking this experience and learning from it. Just like Sister Irma is preaching to us, I can't take anything for granted. I have to ask myself, "am I really living my life the way I want to? Have I said the things I have wanted to say to the people in my life?"

Having lost 4 family members as a child, I'm no stranger to death myself. I'm glad that Union Catholic is somewhere for me to share my grief, thoughts, memories, and prayers. I know that whatever I go through, the people at UC will be there for me if I need them!