I have been struggling on a topic to choose for project until the other day when I was on my way home from New Jersey. I was in the car on the way to this store to drop somebody off and we saw this girl who was running without a coat on. I thought this was a bit weird but didn't think twice about it. When I got to the train station I saw the girl again. She was tall very young asian girl; definitely still in high school. I once again didn't think why this girl may have been without a jacket. So I waited for the train and I look down the track. My eyes aren't the best so I couldn't get the best view but I saw something go into the tracks. I figured it was nothing and went on walking until i saw the train stop midway. I still didn't think twice and just thought it was stopping earlier. Then there was a scream. At that point I figured out what was going on. The girl in just the t-shirt had walked into the train as it was coming in the station. I went closer to check out what happened and I saw her laid out under the train but she was still breathing. Somebody called 911 but I noticed it took a while for an ambulance to get to the station. Nobody really knew what to do. They told all of the people waiting to go to there cars but thats why we were waiting for the train. I talked to this woman who had seen the girl up close and said the girl was crying and slowly walked into the train. Her body was pushed and then over run by the train; no blood, but it was still a gruesome site. I later found out that this girl was a sophomore in high school, and that she got in a fight with her step dad about what she wanted to do in life. It shows how such small things can cause such a big thing to happen. This moment has influenced me to write about problem that isn't easy to deal with which is suicide.
I've never seen or encountered death as close as I did that day and it scared me. To see something I can connect with better then anything else, which is another human, dying like that makes my stomach turn. It is not something I want to see again. If there was blood I probably would have been traumatized. But this made me think back to what we have been learning and left me with a question. Is suicide an illness? How can the mental part of you want to die but the physical part of you want to keep going? I know that the girls body wanted to live because she was still breathing after she was hit by the train. But what was going through her head? Could she have been relieved or realized the worst mistake she could make. Well with some research, I found no evidence that states that suicide is a mental illness but I did find out that 90% of people who kill themselves have some sort of mental disorder. Also if an illness is something that hurts the body doesn't that make suicidal intentions and suicide an illness considering it hurts the mind and at a point the body. Most people see suicide as a person who just hates life. A person who has been pushed to far to a point where it destroys them from the inside out. To the most part that isn't wrong. I thought the same way and I still have the same ideas but now since I've seen it up close I feel differently about it.
This site has very interesting facts about suicide that will be included in my presentation.
http://www.healthyplace.com/depression/suicide/suicide-facts-suicide-statistics/menu-id-68/
I've put a lot of thought into it and I have realized that there is no cure for suicide and you can't really stop it. You can only look out for the symptoms and try to help the person out before its too late. Putting a suicidal person in a hospital is not going to work because it will only make them hate the world and life more. More expensive bills to pay, death all around you, that distinct hospital smell. Nobody wants to be in a hospital, especially if they are thinking of taking there life. A better idea would be to suggest a suicide hotline or a psychiatrist. But in the end it is all up to the person.
http://www.stopasuicide.org/suicide.aspx
Alex,
ReplyDeleteI thought that your topic had a really big impact on you. It seemed like this experience was very hard on you and changed how you thought about this issue. It really made me think more about this issue as well. I think that your most insightful line was, "to see something I can connect with better then anything else, which is another human, dying like that makes my stomach turn."
After reading this insightful blog i have realized that you don't know how much the tiny things you might think bother someone a little, can have a huge affect on them. We recently had a suicide of a student in my school and there has been nothing but grieving and mourning. I can't imagine what it must of been like to witness this tragedy. By the sound of this blog it makes me think your views on death have changed. The statistics were also interesting to read about, who knew that 90 percent of people that kill themselves have a mental disorder.
ReplyDeleteAlex
ReplyDelete-Your approach to this post was very different and interesting. I like how you went in to depth of how the topic of suicide can be separated in to two parts: mentally and physically. Your paragraph on the before and after of the situation painted a vivid picture in my head. You went in to further detail on the possible cause of this attempted suicide before you knew the girls intentions which was insightful. Besides the post connecting more to the assignment, it was very good.
Great post
Your project feel right in to your lap but not in the way you wanted. I know how hard it is to see some one commit suicide and how it makes you think about life and the world but i have never thought about the aspect of the mind dying and the body wanting to live. "How can the mental part of you want to die but the physical part of you want to keep going? I know that the girls body wanted to live because she was still breathing after she was hit by the train." I thought this was a very interesting insight. It shows me that you took time to think about this girls death and the time you spent looking at her.
ReplyDeleteI found your project to be so intreasting and heart felt. I cant imagine seeing some one commit suicide and how it must change your outlook to the world . Your idea about the mind dying and the body wanting to live was a very insightful point which Ive never thought about before. "How can the mental part of you want to die but the physical part of you want to keep going? "
ReplyDelete