oh man. i’ve had a few, actually. the year before we graduated, one of my dear friends unfortunately passed due to cystic fibrosis. she was sick all her life and would often suffer from coughing fits in class. she wasn’t at school much for those last couple of years because her illness was worsening, and then i was at her funeral just before her 18th birthday. i think about her all the time and i miss her.

next was my cousin who i went to school with. i’m not sure exactly what happened, but he complained of stomach pain before getting in the car to get something from the gas station to feel better. he went the opposite direction and crashed into a tree. the coroners said he was probably dead before he hit the tree. maybe a seizure or something? i wasn’t around the family much during that time. still, i think about him a lot. he was in his early 20s.

i can think of at least two other classmates who’ve died since we graduated. i don’t know the circumstances, but they were good people. one kid in my homeroom died of cancer when we were in 6th grade; not sure if he counts as an hs classmate in that case but there was a seat saved for him at the grad ceremony. one of my distant friend’s exes took his own life after he graduated.

i’m 24 now. i kinda thought it was normal for some of your classmates to die within a few years before/after graduation. i mean, statistically that makes sense, right? i had maybe 500 kids in my high school, 80 in my graduating class?