If these halls could talk: When the end comes too soon

Posted May 11, 2009 at 1:00 pm and filed under Opinion.

By Sarah Gibson
Citizen Journalist

Sarah Gibson

Sarah Gibson

When someone dies, people don’t always think about how kids feel. They usually tell us, “Be strong for your parents.” What good does that do when we kids fall apart? Usually, we are the ones that need someone to be strong for us.

Last June was a difficult month for me. One of my good friends, Courtney Powell, had just passed away from leukemia. It was really difficult for everyone that knew her.

Courtney brought out the best in everyone. No matter how you were feeling or how bad your day was, you couldn’t help but smile every time you saw her. Just her saying, “Hello,” was enough to make a bad day good.

When she was diagnosed, it was really hard for all of us to accept. How could such a horrible thing happen to a great person?

To help her family, the students at Centennial Campus Middle School raised money by selling bracelets. The bracelets looked like the LIVESTRONG bracelets, but they were pink – her favorite color – and read “The Easiest Test.” The bracelets referred to a bone marrow test, the easiest test because it can help save a life. You can always tell the CCMS kids from any other group because we all have the bracelets to remember her constantly.

Sunday, May 3, we had a tree planting ceremony in Courtney’s memory. I know in my heart that she was watching over us. She was so sweet and is still missed to this day.

I was reminded of her the other day. My mom (Sharron Gibson, education editor) has written articles about Brittany’s Battle for The Garner Citizen. It’s a nonprofit organization that helps support families dealing with cancer. The founders of Brittany’s Battle, Tammy and Jeff Coppedge, really know how the families feel because they lost their 19-year-old daughter Brittany to lung cancer on Dec. 28, 2006.

She had never smoked in her life and was involved in gymnastics and cheerleading. Yet somehow this young girl, who was such a fighter, lost her life. She was diagnosed only three weeks before her death.

On Saturday, May 2, Brittany’s Battle held its first Boots, Bulls and Bands concert in honor of Brittany. Jeff Coppedge was the guitarist for Jason Michael Carroll, one of the musicians who performed at Boots, Bulls and Bands; Carroll adored Brittany so much. I was so glad they did that.

Cancer is horrible, but suicide is just as bad. We lost one of our 2008 graduates recently, Spencer Bollick. I didn’t know him, but I heard he was a great guy. I know how sad that can make people; I saw my friends go through it. It was rough for a lot of the students at Garner Magnet High School.

Death is hard on all of us, no doubt, but I think it’s especially hard for teenagers. We try to do all we can to keep the ones close to us alive, but it’s out of our hands. All we really can do is pray and tell them how much they mean to us.

So I want all the people reading this to go to the people you love and tell them that you do. Hold them tight and don’t let them go.

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2 Responses for “If these halls could talk: When the end comes too soon”

  1. Marie Williams says:
    June 2, 2009 at 9:06 pm

    Sarah,

    My daughter,Taylor, just graduated from CCMS – she knew Courtney and she knew Brittany. It is sad how many lives are touched by cancer.

    I have had the pleasure of meeting your mom and she is a wonderful lady. You seem to be following in her footsteps as a writer with this very nicely written article – thanks for sharing. I know it is not always easy.

    God bless,
    Marie Williams

  2. Sarah Gibson says:
    June 3, 2009 at 3:02 pm

    Thank you so much for commenting. I miss Courtney a lot and I know other people do too. I decided to write about losing people you love because it effects everybody. Thank you so much for reading the article and I hope you will keep reading!
    Sarah Gibson

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