The End or the Beginning?

A lot of things have changed since my last blog post.  I haven't moved, quit my internship, changed my major, changed my outlook on life, or dyed my hair (although I can't wait to put that purple streak back in my hair when I go back to school).  But somehow, everything is different.

Today, or rather this past week, marks a lot of new beginnings.
I'll start with last Sunday, July 3rd.

I've blogged before about a girl named Taylor Meriwether.

She was a very special girl.  That's right, I said "was."  She passed away last weekend when her heart failed, and her parents decided to pull the plug in the hospital.  The good news?  She was better.  She was no longer suicidal, and she was on her way to being a new person.  She didn't get the chance.  Mentally, she may have been healing, but not physically.  I never got to meet her, but she was and always will be an inspiration to me.  No 16-year old should ever have to endure what she did.  Sometimes, I'm not sure that it's hit me yet that she's gone.  Her story will always remind me of the power of one person.  It took one person to post her suicide note on Tumblr, and another to reblog.  It took one person to stop Taylor from killing herself.  And it only took Taylor to help inspire hundreds.  You may not think you matter, but you do.  It was the end for Taylor on Sunday, but just the beginning for all her friends and supporters.

Another ending I'm dreading is the end of my summer in Nashville.  I've never loved a city so much (although New York and San Diego are still up there).  I'm currently sitting in a Starbucks in Hotel Indigo, my favorite building downtown.  I wish I didn't have to leave when they close in a half hour, and I am dreading leaving this city in 3 and a half weeks.  If you love music, you'll find this to truly be a magical place.  I am finally working my first concert tomorrow at the Auditorium, and I am beyond excited.  I really can't wait to soak up every bit of knowledge I can, and watch some magic unfold.  I think the most amazing noise is a crowd of screaming and cheering people, and there is no more gratifying feeling than knowing that you had something to do with this.  These people will remember this night for years to come, and you played an important part in making it a success.  I love that feeling.  I love that someone could simply stand on a stage and people go wild.  That someone could affect someone so positively to bring them to tears.  The power of one, the teamwork, and the most gratifying payoff.

Something else soon to end, is something very near and dear to my heart.  Harry Potter.  I've just finished watching hours upon hours of footage from the London Premiere of the final movie in this incredible series.  And it's all about to end.  It really dawned on me today, watching everyone at the premiere.  If ever there were a book series to recommend to someone, it would be this one.  The amazing thing about this series that dawned on me today was that there was not a single unimportant character in this story.  Every one of them had a purpose, and every one of them had something likeable about them.  Even the villains.  I don't know about you, but there is something about Bellatrix Lestrange that is just enthralling.  I love that character.  And I could say something to that effect for every single character in the book.  The uniqueness of this ensemble of characters really astounds me.  There is no other series in books or movies that I could say the same thing.  To J.K. Rowling (because I'm SURE you're reading this):  Thank you for the magic.  I would not be who I am today without Harry Potter.
This is such an important part of my childhood, and saying goodbye to it is almost like saying hello to adulthood.  I don't really feel like it, but I guess it's about time.

I think Starbucks is closing soon, so that's all for now.  But I feel like all of this is leading up to the beginning of something...I can feel it.

-AK

Generation Love

 This post is not about any professional matter of any kind.  It's about something so much more important than that.

I was on Tumblr last night, and my friend had reblogged something.  Huge font.  Automatically got my attention.  A girl named Taylor had just posted a suicide note on her Tumblr page.  The post that was getting reblogged was asking for help.  They wanted to find someone who knew this beautiful 16 year old girl and try to stop her before it was too late.  That's an automatic reblog, to me.

After I reblogged the post, I read the suicide note.  Talk about depressing.  I just felt so helpless to this girl in England, and I wanted to stop her.  I sent her a message on Tumblr, and started following her page.  I wanted her to know that people do care about her, including me who is a total stranger and that someday she will look back on this and be glad that she didn't do it.  She has so much more to do and to be.

I went to bed fairly depressed about this.  I woke up this morning at 6:30 and went to work.  I was studying for a test, so I didn't really go online.  I eventually decided to check my email.  Well, I got an email saying that Taylor followed me back on Tumblr.  Highlight of my week.  And a lot of cool stuff has happened this week.

Someone apparently interrupted her before she could even start swallowing the pills.  Today, she had over 1,600 messages, most of them from complete strangers.  She is saying that she will never consider suicide again, and she is doing her best to respond to each and every message that she received.  This makes me so happy.  I hope she does well in life. :)

If you want to feel a little extra happy today, here is her blog:
http://ihopesomebodyhears.tumblr.com

I came across a preview of a song this past week, which is off of YouTube now, but the song is entitled "Generation Love."  Here is the chorus:

"They call us Generation Lost
Or Generation Greed
Or the connected generation to the plasma screen
Or a generation why enough is not enough
Or maybe they'll call us
Generation Love"

I think this is a good start.

Thanks for reading <3 AK