An Untimely Death
Today I got my diploma in the mail. It was accompanied with an automated email from BYU. An impersonal goodbye to the most social experience of my life. Four-ish years of meaningful experiences wrapped into a cardboard envelope that symbolically said "it's officially over." I've heard of people sharing their regrets as they wait to die. I've heard of others that offer bits of advice to loved ones who gather around to hear them speak. Yet, most people have the misfortune of dying an untimely death. Not that death ever comes at a good time, but "untimely" is the type of death that nobody expects. One day a person is just gone. When that happens, the loved ones get to do the reflecting for them. The day I died as a student I wasn't in the library surrounded by a table of friends I had made along the way. There wasn't a long line of people waiting to tell me they loved me and appreciated the time we had together. There wasn't anyone asking ...