My brother Evan passed away by suicide on March 18, 2024. He was a 15 year old sophomore in high school who played soccer, video games, and he loved hanging out with his friends. Evan and I were a lot closer when we were younger but we still had our times where we hung out and joked together over all the dumb things. He always found ways to joke and lift up everyone around him in some bad situations. Sometimes I felt that he couldn’t care less what I was doing but he proved me wrong when he could see that I was upset and he would check on me. When I would leave the house, he would always ask where I was going. Something that was very significant about him was that he was very driven to make money. He had many small businesses like making funny t-shirts. He had also brought snacks and a cooler of sodas to school and sold them there ( even though it was definitely against the rules). With all the money he made, he spread it throughout his friends and family. He bought some electronics for my little brother Alec and I would always drive us to Sonic and he would buy me food. We also made many Dollar General trips where he would buy me snacks. Every day, I find a new memory in the back of my head of us and it makes me miss him so much but it also makes me happy that I have so many fun times to think about. My favorite things that I have done in remembrance of him was stuff like having a locket made for me to wear, we had t-shirts and stickers made for him, we have a plaster mold of his hand, we had paintings made, my school had a little memorial set up for a little bit, and I love writing in my journal as if I am writing letters to him. Once I go to college, I hope that I could bring his memory with me and I hope that I can find a counselor at Angelo State University that I could talk to when I need someone. We donated Evan’s organs to a lot of people and my planned major is Health Science so I hope once I am working in the medical field that I could be a part in helping donate organs to those in need. I hope that Evan’s memory can stay with me everyday and I hope that he will be looking down on me and will be proud of what become.

One of the most significant and impacting events that has come into my life happened only three months ago on March 16, 2024. I had just gotten back from my spring break trip to Magnolia, TX with my boyfriend Daniel’s family. We spent every day sitting by the pool, relaxing in the hot tub, and binge watching movies. I had such a good time hanging out with them so I didn’t want to go back home. After we got back from Magnolia, I decided to hang out at Daniel’s house until around 9 o’clock that night, he was driving me home and we were laughing and listening to music as usual. The first sign that something was off was when we approached my driveway and a police truck pulled into my driveway ahead of us. We were very confused so we followed the truck cautiously. My driveway splits off into different directions so the truck went one way and we went the other way towards the front door. I got out of Daniel’s truck and told him to stay in while I went to check what was going on. I opened the door and all I saw was my eight year old brother Alec crying. I asked him what was wrong and he said “Evan shot himself in the head with a pistol.” Evan was my fifteen year old brother. My heart immediately sank and I felt this immense wave of shock and confusion. I ran back outside to the truck, opened the door, and Daniel could tell that something was wrong so he asked what happened and I told him exactly what Alec told me. We went back into the house to grab Alec so we could sit outside and stay away from all of the chaos that was happening. By that time, some paramedics and police officers showed up. After we were questioned by the police officers, Evan was taken to the hospital to see if anything could be done. Daniel took Alec and me back to his house so we could sleep somewhere that wasn’t our house. Once we got to their house, I couldn’t go to sleep at all. At around 12 o’clock at night, my mom texted and told us that we needed to go to the hospital. Daniel’s dad took us there and we met up with my parents and my twelve year old sister Sydney, who was at her friend's house while all of this was happening. We spent the rest of the night waiting in the children’s ICU waiting room, waiting for the inevitable news that my little brother had died. My brother Evan was officially declared dead on March 18, 2024. This event has been the most impacting thing that has ever happened to me, while I had just experienced this great devastating loss and I was feeling the heaviest weight on my heart as I was reminded everyday that I would no longer get to see Evan anymore, I have also learned not to take any moment with my loved ones for granted because they could be taken away just like that. Since then I have done everything in remembrance for him and I always try to look back at my earliest memories with Evan. As I approach the start of my college freshman year at Angelo State University, I am scared to not be with all of my loved ones everyday but I am excited to experience these opportunities in a new chapter of my life.

One of the most significant and impacting events that has come into my life happened only three months ago on March 16, 2024. I had just gotten back from my spring break trip to Magnolia, TX with my boyfriend Daniel’s family. We spent every day sitting by the pool, relaxing in the hot tub, and binge watching movies. I had such a good time hanging out with them so I didn’t want to go back home. After we got back from Magnolia, I decided to hang out at Daniel’s house until around 9 o’clock that night, he was driving me home and we were laughing and listening to music as usual. The first sign that something was off was when we approached my driveway and a police truck pulled into my driveway ahead of us. We were very confused so we followed the truck cautiously. My driveway splits off into different directions so the truck went one way and we went the other way towards the front door. I got out of Daniel’s truck and told him to stay in while I went to check what was going on. I opened the door and all I saw was my eight year old brother Alec crying. I asked him what was wrong and he said “Evan shot himself in the head with a pistol.” Evan was my fifteen year old brother. My heart immediately sank and I felt this immense wave of shock and confusion. I ran back outside to the truck, opened the door, and Daniel could tell that something was wrong so he asked what happened and I told him exactly what Alec told me. We went back into the house to grab Alec so we could sit outside and stay away from all of the chaos that was happening. By that time, some paramedics and police officers showed up. After we were questioned by the police officers, Evan was taken to the hospital to see if anything could be done. Daniel took Alec and me back to his house so we could sleep somewhere that wasn’t our house. Once we got to their house, I couldn’t go to sleep at all. At around 12 o’clock at night, my mom texted and told us that we needed to go to the hospital. Daniel’s dad took us there and we met up with my parents and my twelve year old sister Sydney, who was at her friend's house while all of this was happening. We spent the rest of the night waiting in the children’s ICU waiting room, waiting for the inevitable news that my little brother had died. My brother Evan was officially declared dead on March 18, 2024. This event has been the most impacting thing that has ever happened to me, while I had just experienced this great devastating loss and I was feeling the heaviest weight on my heart as I was reminded everyday that I would no longer get to see Evan anymore, I have also learned not to take any moment with my loved ones for granted because they could be taken away just like that. Since then I have done everything in remembrance for him and I always try to look back at my earliest memories with Evan. As I approach the start of my college freshman year at Angelo State University, I am scared to not be with all of my loved ones everyday but I am excited to experience these opportunities in a new chapter of my life.