I thought that coming to terms in 2017 with my parents divorce as a 10-year old boy was the hardest thing that I would ever have to deal with. I mean really, what fourth grader would ever think that their Dad would move out of the house and the family circle would be torn apart? Life was an unimaginable struggle when Dad left. My brother and I were left to cope with the pain and at the same time support mom who was also dealing with Dad now gone. How could things ever get any worse? Fast forward three years later to 2020. Mom re-married again to a man named Eric. Eric was a gentleman who was hard-working and who we quickly looked up to as a step-Dad. We quickly grew close and bonded as he taught us how to fix things around the house and even how to work on cars. As a 13-year old boy, my life had finally returned to some sense of “normal”. “Normal” came crashing down on Saturday August 1, 2020. My mom tragically found Eric hanging in the barn where he had taken his own life following a lengthy battle with mental health and depression. Aside from the shock, anger and grief, I faced challenges that no 13-year old should ever have to deal with. Why did Eric do this to me? Why did Eric do this to us? I then began to think about our new reality. Who will fix things around the house? Who will work on mom’s car when it needs to be repaired? Who will plow the driveway in the winter when it snows? Countless other questions were also swirling around my head. After a short period of time, I realized that the answer to those questions was ME. I needed to step up and be there for mom. Mom needed me to be there for her. I began to help around the house like I did not before. I helped clear the driveway of snow, I mowed the lawn in the summer. I even tried to help mom in the kitchen the best that I could. I didn’t know the fancy word at the time, but apparently I was being resilient. I could have felt bad for myself and just gave up. I could have just used the tragedy of losing Eric as an excuse. Instead I actually used it as a motivator. As an example of this, Eric always enjoyed watching me play baseball over the years that he was married to my mom. I continued to work hard and went on to play baseball in high school. In 2023, we won the Massachusetts Division 3 baseball state title at Oakmont Regional High School. Hard work, commitment, dedication and staying resilient were all factors. I know that Eric was looking down on us and was smiling. Many lessons were learned through this tragedy and have actually shaped who I am as a young man today. 1. Life is not fair. As a 13-year old boy, I would have not thought in my wildest dreams that my life would be faced with such tragedy . However, it is almost more important in how you respond. Should i feel bad for myself and make excuses, or should I work hard, persevere and be best version of myself that I can be. In other words, how I can I make Eric proud? I just finished my first semester at Worcester State University where I got 4 A's out of 5 classes. Yes, Eric would be so proud! https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/telegram/name/eric-friberg-obituary?id=8249616