During the year 2007, my dad, Bobby, passed away due to suicide. Ever since that day at 2:00 in the morning, I have been very heart broken and lost not knowing what the next day was going to bring me. My life changed dramatically because he was my best friend, the only person I could truly open up to and trust with anything. He was the type of guy to put a smile on anyone’s face, even if that person was in a bad mood. Going to school was one part of my day that I hated, but as soon as I went home, my dad would always cheer me up by telling jokes and going to ride the four-wheelers with me. Losing the closest man to me made me realize that the most important people in life are really only truly appreciated when they are gone. I lost my dad when I was twelve years old, and growing up without him by my side was very hard. I wish I had never lost my dad. I am the youngest in our family, and I miss him more than anything in this world. There is not one day that I wouldn’t do anything to get him back to be by my side whenever I need him.

There are many reasons why people commit suicide like, fighting, stress, depression, and getting bullied. In my dad’s situation, the only reason that my family and I can come up with is that he was stressed out from the fighting and arguing going on between him and my mom. I wonder if I’ll ever see him again because I’m not for sure that life will continue.

I wish I had one more chance to talk to my daddy more. If I could do that, then I would have hopefully talked him out of hurting himself and would’ve helped him come up with a different solution so that he and my mom would still be married. Then I wouldn’t have to worry about having “step” parents. However, going through the experiences, I have matured more than I have ever expected. Nobody ever said life would be easy, but making the right choices does miracles.
It was hard to go to my dad’s funeral because his whole family was there. At that time, my family and his side of the family were butting heads because they were blaming my mom for the decisions my dad made. How can someone blame others for choices a person makes? His side of the family blamed my mom, but also made an issue out of my dad’s old truck. When he was still alive, my dad gave my brother Cody a truck. At the hospital the day my dad committed suicide, my dad’s stepfather asked if my brother would give up the truck so that he could have it. We figured he wanted to sell it. Why would anyone in this world do that? We were all very upset that day; we could barely handle the fact that his family was there. The morning when my dad shot himself, the police officer called my dad’s family to let them know what was going on. My dad’s family didn’t even consider the fact that my brothers, my mom, and I were still in the house when it happened. They didn’t even ask if we were okay.

When someone passes away, it’s hard not to show emotions. The day of my daddy’s funeral, I didn’t really want to be around anyone because when I am upset and people try to hug me and try to get information, it just makes it harder to cope. I walked away from a few people because they were trying to do was get information and try to talk to me about my dad’s cars, tools, clothes, guns, and anything else he had. In my opinion, that is very rude for someone to do. At that time, my temper was really hard to control, so walking away was about the easiest “fix” when dealing with ignorant people.

When someone loves a person who passes away and there are only memories left of the person, memories become treasures. After everything happened, my mom told me, “Don’t sweat the small stuff.” She told me this because I was always worrying about what people would say when I went back to school and if people would treat me any differently. My thoughts were proven wrong.
I went back to school the next year, being as strong as I could. Everyone stuck by my side and helped me whenever I needed someone. Having great friends and a strong family is what I needed to get me through tough times. My dad was the highlight of my day. He always gave good advice, told hilarious jokes, and always knew how to put a smile on my face. Some people may remember my dad for the stuff he owned, but I am going to remember him as the best dad and best friend that I will ever have.