The world is better with you

Robert Witham never made it to his high school graduation. Just less than a month before receiving his diploma, he took his life. \nWitham found out he had lung cancer when he was 18 and he was immediately discharged from the Marines after stumbling upon this devastating discovery. He began to fight the deadly disease. Battling lung cancer was just one of his many concerns. \nWitham had moved out of his home at the age of 15 and dropped out of school when he was 17. He decided to go back to high school when he was 20 and then at the age of 25, he was going to walk across the stage for graduation at Manchester High School. \nI did not know Witham, but I graduated from the same high school he was attending. I grew up in the same town of 6,000 people. I recognized his name from a previous article in our hometown newspaper that announced Witham as the recipient of a self-reliance scholarship. When I heard news of his death, I felt sick. Even strangers lose something when any one of us commits suicide. \nOne suicide occurs globally every 40 seconds according to Suicide Statistics Resource Researchers. Suicide is the third leading cause of death for people between ages of 15-24. Since Sept. 11, I've been forced to acknowledge the probability of tragedy, but I will never understand suicide. I cannot comprehend what I assume is a complex perception of an inability to cope with problems.\nI wish there was a reliable way to help people understand that suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem. I understand there are medical problems such as chemical disorders that push some to the brink, but there are twice as many possible medical solutions if someone is just willing to make an effort to find help.\nI have battled with only small spells of depression and I have become disillusioned with what life is really all about. I normally simply say a prayer, roll over and fall asleep. And the next day, something good happens and then I realize why I'm still ticking. I know that I'm not experiencing the despair that some feel and I'm not trying to preach -- but I don't want to stand by and not say anything.\nEveryone has a place in this world and just because you haven't discovered it yet doesn't mean you won't. \nWe all have problems. \nThere are children with terminal illnesses who do not have the privilege of simply living. There are women who have never witnessed the beauty of the world due to blindness. And there are men who cannot walk their daughters down the aisle because of automobile accidents. \nYou're not alone with your problems even if it feels like you are.\nI never got to meet Robert Witham. After I read the article about his scholarship win, I admired him. I wanted to meet him, but now I will never have that opportunity. Who knows how many other people I'll never have the chance to meet because of their life-ending decisions. \nWe all have obstacles in this world, but please don't take yourself out of the picture. Whether you know it or not, the world is better with you in it.