Personal Narrative: The Loss Of A Friend

I never thought that on October 31, 2012 I would lose a friend. A friend who made everybody laugh; a friend that showed so much compassion for everyone and everything he did. I knew that my life would change forever. I had never lost anyone before, so grief for another person was new to me. I soon learned that although when you hear about it, grief doesn't sound that awful, but when you experience it you never want to go through it again. All of the pain, heartache, and loss were unbearable. Most grieved in silence, not daring to utter his name or speak anything about the topic. Not many could say they weren't close to him. He touched so many hearts that it was going to be hard to ever forget about him. This was part of my life that as I grow older I would never forget as hard as I tried to, it would always be a part of my life because it affected me then and still affects me now in everything I do. This essay is about the loss of a friend and teammate and how I

slowly learned how to get over the fact that someone that who had been so happy the day before was now dead, and learned that I could use it as an advantage to living my life to the fullest.
It was October 28, 2012 everything that day was normal, just an average morning of waking up after three hours of sleep at a sleep over. Normally I was the first to wake and this time was one of those times that I was indeed the first to rise from my sleeping bag and slowly
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walk upstairs. Soon others began to join me. finally when everyone had arrived it was time for breakfast and our parents to pick us up. As parents slowly started arriving at the house i couldn't help but hear the eerie silence that followed whenever someone left. Waiting less than five minutes after breakfast, my dad had finally arrived at the house. Normally my dad wasn't one of those parents who got out of the car to chat with everyone, but I guess that day was different. Glancing over at my dad once I got into the car, I see him in deep conversation with one of my friends mom, the look of pure shock and disbelief was etched her face, but at that moment I had no idea why. Questions raced through my mind, but i held them in until eventually my dad spoke. All he told me was that something had gone wrong at the pool this morning and my brother was involved. I couldn't help but wonder what had gone so wrong that my dad couldn't even tell me. He then told me that Andrew, my brother that was at the pool, was in his room and he was not to be bothered. I had no explanation as to why until we pulled into the driveway and my dad looked at me and told me that one of my friends and teammate had been in a fatal accident and they didn't know if he would survive. All I knew at that point was that one of friends was on his death bed and my brother had been involved in some way.
Louis was only fourteen when he was pronounced dead on October 31, 2012. A few days before that we had been told he was in a coma. I knew most people in a coma did not survive them. Brain dead and on life support, Louis’s family had finally made the heart wrenching decision to take him off of life support so he could move on to where his life took him next. I knew on that day that my life would change. If it would be for better or for worse, I didn't know. I knew many of us would miss him and many of us wouldnt go back to the way it was but we
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had to try, for Louis’s sake, we couldnt give up because even though he left us he would always be with us in our hearts. Not a day goes by when something or someone reminds me of him. I know it's the same with everyone else. Especially my brother who was one of the life guards on the scene of Louis’s accident. I knew my brother blamed himself for Louis’s death and no one could change his mind. To this day I’m glad I met Louis and I'm not going to say I’m glad he was dead but his death taught me so much and if I had the chance to go back and change it, I wouldn't do it.
After Louis’s death was probably the worst couple of years of my life but i soon got over it when i started living by something that winnie the pooh said “If there ever is a tomorrow that we are not together, there is one thing you should always remember.

you are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think. But the most important thing is: even if we are apart, I will always be with you in the heart.” I don’t know why this exact quote spoke to me after Louis’s death but I always imagined that if I would ever see Louis one last time this is what he would say to me. I live everyday to the fullest because you never know if the next day you or one of your friend might be dead. It still comes as a shock to me how Louis died. he was a very skilled swimmer and one of the last people you would expect from drowning. ut his death is in the past and although he gone it doesn't haunt me like it used to, I just learned to live with the fact that he is gone and he can never come

back.
Louis will forever been known in our minds and in our hearts as the person who never gave up, never stopped smiling, and never stopped making people laugh. This was a memorable moment in my life because not only did I lose someone when i was very young i also lost some
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one really close to me and my team and he will never be forgotten because he taught us all to live our lives a little brighter, and cherish every moment whether its happy or sad with your friends and family because you never know when one might not be here the next day.