What I've Learned

 “Describe a time when you learned something that has remained significant to you. What you learned could be anything from an idea to a skill, and the learning needn’t have taken place in a traditional school setting, though it may have. Explain the situation, how you learned what you did, and why it remains important to you today.”

Something I have learned that has remained significant to me is the true value of friendship as a whole. From that I have come to learn to always be aware of the things that go on around me and to never take anything for granted, especially when it comes to the people close to me. Unfortunately how I’ve come to learn and understand this was a way I would have never wanted to. On September 7^th of last year my best friend had decided to take her life. Writing these words down pains me so much because I never thought in my life I would be saying it, it was like my black swan. This tragic event had immediately opened my eyes. I had never experienced anything like it before. In the couple of months after it happened I was very confused, angry, unsocial, upset, etc. The circumstances were very high because I had to deal with not only the loss of a close friend but all the events that followed it. Such as emotions, how my friends were feeling and having to just go on with life. Having been under these specific circumstances really contributed to what I got out of the situation. It was so intense and fast paced that it forced me to think in ways I’d hadn’t before, therefore realizing things I hadn’t before and from there being educated in what I know now.  But with the help of counselors, teachers and friends from school I was able to realize I couldn’t live my life this way. I knew it would take a lot of time to be the same as I used to be but I was willing to work at it. It took this event to take place for me to learn what I did. I went through everyday just thinking in my mind about a lot of things, but mostly about how I could help others. I got myself educated with ways to talk to people if their struggling and how to approach them. In addition, not only did I learn the true value of friendship but I also learned how to cope with my feelings, help others who might be on the edge struggling with their life, and to open my eyes to the life around. This remains so important to me today because it’s a way to keep her memory alive. From what I went through I now have some knowledge to help others that might be going through something similar and to possibly even prevent an event like that from happening. I will never in my lifetime forget this learning experience.