Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Two Seconds Too Soon


*Have you ever wondered if everything in life happens for a reason? I used to wonder it all the time, now I know that it does*

Elementary school, young, free, invincible. Nothing in the world could ever harm me or my friends. Life's great, no worries, no troubles. Every day my friends and I speak about the future; cars, boys, families. As we grew older many of us grow apart and began to speak less and less. Friends changed but we all still stayed civil to eachother.
Junior High, getting older, still invincible. My best friend growing up, Jasmine and I began to hang out again. Things hadn't changed between us and we had as much fun as we used to when we were kids. Laughing, playing, gossiping about boys. I finally feel like I have my best friend back again. As life goes on, however, things change.
Now I am in highschool, still getting older, still feeling invincible. I'v lost touch once again with Jasmine and were now just aquaintances. (My advice to everyone is to never lose touch with any friends that you have, no matter how different your lives may be.) Four years of highschool pass.. we barely speak to eachother. I transfer to another highschool closer to my home and it gets hard for us to keep in touch, especially now barely seeing eachother. Graduation comes, parties follow still barely any contact with Jasmine. We chat a bit over the computer and make plans to hang out and catch up. The year passed by.. so much homework, new boyfriend, new friends. I regret not calling her, I really do.. I am just so busy.. and I am sure she is too..
It's December, I am driving home, the radio spoke, “18 year old girl killed in motor vehicle accident living in the Murillo area”. They didn’t give the name.. I hoped..I prayed that it wasn’t my friend Jasmine. We had been friends since we were two years old. We did everything together and I had and always will wish that we had stayed best friends and still hung out like we used to. I am just coming up to the Tim Hortons by Lakehead and I get a phone call. I pull over on the side of the road. My friend Amanda called I heard no words, just tears. My stomach drops, my heart begins to beat faster ..pound pound pound.. Tear drops roll down my face like a never ending water-fall. I feel absolutely sick to my stomach. The feeling in my stomach is so intense, the knot it is in is so thick, unbearable, and tight. I phone my mom to come and pick me up because I can't drive home.. I just can't. She is in absolute shock as well. My friend, just a girl.. not invinsible..no one is..
**Jasmine Veneruzzo died in December 2008 from a car crash which could have been prevented. The driver of the opposing car was going 40-50 km’s above the speed limit for not apparent reason. In September Jasmine was to be enrolled in the nursing program at Lakehead. She was an amazing girl and always will have an impact on my life and how I appreciate each day I am alive. I always think about how if she would have left her house two minutes later she would still be here today. Or what if we were still good friends and instead of her leaving her house I was going over to visit her that very day. It could have been me, it could have been anyone. That is why I now believe that everything in life happens for a reason. I know that Jasmine will be watching over me and all of our friends for the rest of our lives but I still wish that I would have made a better effort to see her. Jasmine may have not been invinsible, but she is irreplaceable. You never know when the last time you will see someone will be so never take life for granted**

5 comments:

  1. I honestly have thought that before, the idea that everything happens for a reason.. In a sense, I think that I am a strong believer in destiny. Of course, when you connect it to a tragic death - or a death in general as you have.. it becomes sad and depressing. It's like the decisions you make on a daily basis mean nothing, your future has been written for you... you have no control; and that's a scary thought.
    very well written! It's deep, emotional and meaningful. Keep it up!!

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  2. I can’t imagine what that would feel like. Your piece just put into check how bad I am at communicating with my long term friends. Life is difficult. All too often it seems to “get in the way”. And with more and more changes occurring in life, it does get more difficult to stay in touch with those people that we know we should. With all respects given, I think this piece could be more poignant if it we shorter; even the sentences. If it were written in a sort of minimalist kind of way, I think it could really move people, more than it does already. And perhaps tie the “invincibility” comments at the beginning into your conclusion. But know that your piece has reminded me to call my best friend. So, thanks.

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  3. It is so true and common of a situation when friends lose touch with one another, only to keep postponing the date when and if you will reunite. What I gather from this piece is that your loss of touch with a friend was very gradual and spread out; whereas the tragedy affected you immediately, and you realize your aspirations of re-building that friendship have come to a screeching halt. Scenarios like the one you reveal in this piece demonstrate the cruel unpredictability of life. The loss of a life of any person, let alone a kindred person, inspires tremendous pain, which you display in the final paragraph. This is deep, emotional, and was probably very difficult to write. However, I recommend putting yourself directly IN the situation and writing subjectively in present tense- that way your sensory description becomes more vivid.

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  4. Brittney,
    That must of been aweful. How tragic! This could not have been easy to write. Thank you for sharing with us.
    This post is very emotional and given the right spin, you could have put us, the reader there with you. I would like to see how each event made you feel. I need to see more of you in there. I do like how you gave us an introduction, but it would have been more effective to then jump into present tense. When you use past tense, you are telling a story rather than showing a story.
    Thank you again for sharing this aweful event with us. I am so sorry for your loss. I want to go and call all of friends of past now!

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  5. My goodness. That was difficult to read... I cannot imagine how difficult it might have been to write and reflect on. I truly am sorry had to go through this, and that this had to happen at all. They're words, but they're also feelings. And that brings me to wanting to talk about this post in a literary way:

    I noticed that even though the words and the structure you used appear 'simple' and compact (the continued comma use and listing and so on). There's quite clearly a great deal of feeling in them. That is, your emotions come through quite powerfully. And why? Well, I think it might be for many reasons, but one of them, textually speaking, is that the language you use may be simple, but it's REAL. It's not dressed up a lot, and it fits in well.

    Some other things I really liked: The rising effect of tension produced by: "Pound Pound POUND" -- the capital, bold letters visual were really effective.

    And of course, the connection to meaning. To pre-destiny... To chance, to fate, to the movement of induviduals about time.

    ... It's a terribly sad peice, and a really emotional read, and I can feel that. But it's also a good peice, and it's well written and it captures the intensity so well.

    Well done.

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