Night Changes

At the beginning of this week, I was having trouble finding something to write about in this entry. I had vague ideas in mind, but I didn't know how to develop them, until Wednesday when something happened that impacted me so much that I had to comment on it, and unfortunately, that source of inspiration for this post wasn't happy news. You may have already heard something about it; in fact, it was quite a media-covered news story, that on Wednesday, October 16, singer Liam Payne, member of the group One Direction, passed away at the age of 31. Different opinions and reactions emerged with such news, but in this case, I'll be talking particularly about mine.

Oh God, if I could explain the wave of emotions I felt at that moment in a few words, I probably wouldn't even be writing this. I can only say that what I initially believed to be a joke from my friends, fake news, or just something people make up to get reactions on the internet, turned out to be something tragic and unexpected that no one saw coming. In less than 20 minutes, social media was in chaos with people wondering if it was true, including myself, who spent a couple of hours in shock not knowing what to feel because I couldn't believe it, before assimilating it and breaking down in tears.

I know you might be thinking that I'm just being exaggerated and immature, that he was just another artist I never met, but I'll go back to the time when that particular group was part of my life as a 13-year-old teenager, how I innocently enjoyed their music and spent time with my friends at school talking about their videos, buying magazines and exchanging posters and photos, and as I grew up, they and their music impacted certain important moments in my life and how they were part of my transition from girl to teenager to adult, and just like that, it had changed forever.

I simply find it so curious how life can be so uncertain, that one day you're remembering old times, and the next day that person who is part of your precious memories will simply no longer be there. Life is ephemeral, fragile. That's why we have to appreciate it, embrace it, love and value our loved ones, and just try to make it as bearable as possible, because we never know what might happen a year, a month, a week, a day, an hour, a minute, or a second later.

I also reflected on death, on how it can be just around the corner, and on how no matter how many times you've been through a loss, death is something so unpredictable that it still affects you as much as the first time. As an example, I put myself, who I’m no stranger to death; somehow life has been taking away people I love in recent years, and it's still a painful and shocking experience every time I've had to say goodbye forever to someone I love. 

That's why it's so important to be in touch with our loved ones and not neglect them, because there are people who are not going through a good time, or who have never had a good life in general, and I truly believe we can avoid misfortunes and remorses with a simple exchange of words, and we shouldn't wait until the last moment to say the things we always wanted and never could, to never be left with the desire or intentions of giving something special to someone we appreciate, and not wait for that next and last encounter to unfortunately be at a funeral.  

“We're only getting older, baby
And I've been thinkin' about it lately
Does it ever drive you crazy
Just how fast the night changes?
Everything that you've ever dreamed of
Disappearing when you wake up
But there's nothing to be afraid of
Even when the night changes
It will never change me and you”