The Train

“I believe that everything happens for a reason. People change so that you can learn to let go, things go wrong so you can appreciate them when they’re right, and sometimes good things fall apart so better things can fall together.” – Marilyn Monroe

It was April 29, 2009. I received a phone call that one of my friends had been

hit by a train. His name was Jose G. Zelaya, he was only 16 years old, soon to be 17 on

November 14th. Jose was a good kid when I first met him four years ago. He was a good

friend, a classmate, and my neighbor; he was also dating my best friend. Going into our

freshman year Jose started going downhill. He began smoking weed, drinking, and

tagging up walls. Everyone told him that his new life style would not get him far. Jose

did change, that was a fact, and his decisions led to severe consequences.

So, like any other day, he began his day by getting high, then going to tag up

walls. He went to the train tracks in Everett to express his feelings through graffiti,

with another friend, Kevin. Kevin witnessed Jose getting hit by the train. He told us

that Jose was on one side of the train tracks and crossed over knowing that a train was

coming, but he wanted to beat the train to the other side. Unfortunately, this sounds

like something Jose’s dare devil self would do.

Through his death he opened up his friends’ eyes that had been shut for so

long. They realized that anything can happen at anytime, and that stupid actions have

cosequences. Something bad was bound to happen, but none us though it would be this

bad. It really took everyone by surprise. Everyone kept aking me, “Why did Jose die?”

or “Why him?” A very vague question, but this question kept me up all night trying to

get an answer. It would not leave my mind. Until I realized he died for a reason. He

showed us that people do change, and it’s not always in a good way, but you have to let

go. Jose died because of the life style he lived, and all of us had to let go, and just

hold on to the memories.

While Jose’s death changed many perspectives on life, it changed me more than

I ever could imagine. I was so used to him being around. I was used to the person he

transformed to. I wasn’t able to sleep for the first two weeks. I would go to bed around

5am and go to school at 8am. I wasn’t focused on anything, nor did I care about anything.

Lifes a struggle things change for a reason, learn to cope and let go.