On February 17th, 2011, my classmate Michelle was tragically killed in a car accident. There was an ice storm the night before, and as she drove down the road, hers and two other cars collided. The other two drivers were able to walk away with minor injuries; Michelle was pronounced dead at the scene. She was 19 years old.
Our program at school is pretty small (under 100 people in our year), and despite this there are very few people who I have spent enough time with to actually know by both first and last name and some details of their lives. She was one of those people that I feel lucky enough to have known at least that much. We used to joke that there was always another Michelle in any class we took because it's such a popular name... and now I'm the only one for the first time ever. I wasn't a close friend of Michelle's, really I knew her only from school, and at that we'd only known each other for just over one semester. I don't have many memories of her. But those that I do have were of a bright, talented, beautiful young woman. She had such a passion for everything she did. In the few times that we did talk about our lives outside of school, she told us about her love of horses (which she rode competitively). Only after her death did I find out about her other incredible talents: she was a pentathlete, competitive show horse jumper, runway fashion model, and judging by the crowd who came to the funeral this morning - a passionate friend to many.
Though I didn't know Michelle very well outside of school, I was incredibly affected by the news of her death. I received the news at work via email from our school administration, and it really took me a good day or two to really understand what I was reading. It really took until this morning as I saw her casket being carried out to the waiting hearst outside that I understood entirely too well that she was gone. At only 19, her life was over, and cut far too short.
Even more stunning than our loss, the students who attended her funeral this morning found solace in some of our professors who were able to come as well. A prof who I always thought didn't like me very much hugged each of us tightly and offered any help that she could give. She offered to pay for taxis for those who wanted to go to the internment, offered an incredible amount of support both there and back at school for us, and was generally a way more awesome person than I ever would have expected. She later told us that when she was in her undergrad, one of her classmates passed away in 4th year. So, she totally understood what we were going through and wanted to be there to help us as much as she could.
If anything, Michelle's tragic passing has taught me that life is incredibly fragile and precious. Hers is the first funeral that I have attended for someone close to my age (actually younger than me), which I think has a lot to do with why I have been so deeply saddened by this loss. Michelle lost her life in a senseless and incredibly fast way, which many of my classmates are struggling to deal with. I realized on the way home that it is going to be incredibly difficult to go back to school next week (after reading week) and be missing one of our classmates, knowing that she will never be coming back.
I've decided that I can't allow this beautiful young woman's death go unhonoured, and I will use it as a learning opportunity. I will use her loss to remind me that we need to live each moment completely, love fully, and laugh wholeheartedly. I will tell those that I love how much they mean to me, and will not let a day pass where they don't know.
In the meantime, I ask that you all please drive carefully, and join me in keeping Michelle and her family in your hearts.
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