Lucille K., Oakwood High School
My commitment against Committing
Dottie Yeck’s philosophy of Being Good + Doing Good = Having Fun + Being Happy is my moral in life. Making others happy makes me feel happy. Some think a good life is about being rich and never showing weakness.To me, it’s about being able to express my feelings and being a safe place for others so they don’t have to go through anything alone.
I learned and experienced this when my dad was mentally struggling. He silently suffered alone without someone to talk to, and then he took his own life without seeking help.
My family was close and did everything together. Our family''s happiness meant a lot to me. Some teenagers don''t like their dads, but I loved mine. Which triggered me more after he committed suicide and made me question everything.
After he died, weeks later my mom was going through his office looking for something. She stumbled upon three letters. Later that night, she told me that my dad left me something and handed me the tattered envelope. I opened the envelope and took the note out carefully. Words that stand out are: “Take care of your mom for me. I love you so much. You will never know how much I love you. You will always be my little girl.” I started sobbing because I missed him, but also because I realized he did say goodbye, in his own way. The day before he left, he said goodbye to my sister and took her to school, but I did not even see him that day, much less say goodbye, so that letter meant everything to me. It meant he loved me and he couldn’t say goodbye because it was too hard for him because he knew I loved him more than anything.
After he passed, I was beating myself up thinking it was my fault. But later I realized I did not do anything wrong. I was relentlessly reminded by my family and friends that he truly loved me
That was all thanks to my therapist. She got me through everything and I could not be more thankful. She was my safe place and someone I could talk to. She helped me work through my trauma and face it head on. I spent an hour and a half weekly talking or even just playing a simple game like Uno. Anything to take my mind off that hollow feeling in my heart. Ever since that moment I have felt that helping people is my passion, and now my plan to live a good life. Making others happy fills me with confidence and hope for not only myself, but others too. And like Dottie Yeck said, Being Good + Doing Good = Having Fun + Being Happy applies to me if others are happy too. Helping others makes me feel complete and whole. I had always known helping people was my calling , but now I know that my experience with trauma could help guide them through their own.
