This I Believe
Have you ever had anything close or important to you snatched away? Have you ever had such a big part of your life disappear? Have you ever had anyone you loved die? I have. A loved one can die in many ways it can be by choice or by destiny, they can either leave this world all together or they can just leave you. My uncle Jeff had been a part of my life since I can remember; He was like a big brother, a best friend. Having him disappear from my world wasn’t easy. What made it more difficult was the fact that I was kept away from the truth; my parents thought me too young to understand, that my uncle, my friend, had left me by choice.
Depression is a disease that casts its shadow in everyone’s life, for some that shadow is more overwhelming then for others. My uncle is one of those few whose shadow was more all consuming. All I can truly remember is that from one moment my uncle visited me at least once every week, he called and gave gifts on my birthday, he was there for every school play and graduation. The next thing I knew he had disappeared. His visits were terminated, our birthdays are forgotten, he even missed my bothers senior graduation. Worst of all is the fact that the only way I ever gain knowledge of my uncle is through hushed conversations between my grandparents and my parents.
I believe in the power of choice. Depression may take over a big part of someone’s life if it is strong enough; however, it does not eliminate a person’s option to choose for themselves’ what they want to do about it. My uncle chose to give in, to quite, and the power of that choice has not only affected him but also the ones who love him. My uncle is not dead in the physical sense; however mentally he is like a spirit, a ghost, whose only purpose is to haunt my mind with the remorse of losing him. From this experience my belief is all that much stronger and it will be carried with me through life to weigh down my own choices in the present and for the future.