even though robin williams may have not recently been in the media spotlight, or the forefront of people's minds or conversations, it seems like his untimely death shocked us all. every one of my social feeds seemed to be overwhelmingly focused on robin williams. people were sharing their favorite movies, quotes and memories that included him. i feel like a big reason there was such a big response in social media is because my generation (who happen to be very active in the social media world) grew up with him in a sense. he starred in so many 90's classics. i know my siblings and i watched hook so much that the vhs tape eventually broke..
and then yesterday i heard the news that jay adams died at 53 years old. he's a bit less widely known than robin williams, but he was one of the guys that really revolutionized skateboarding into what it is today. he battled a lot of demons and spent time in and out of jail, but he had finally gotten to a good spot in his life. he was addiction-free and talking to kids about how it's not necessary to go through a lot of what he went through and has been an inspirational figure in helping them keep out of trouble. he died of a heart attack in mexico and was reportedly happy vacationing and surfing down there with his wife.

and on top of these two sad occurrences, this summer - more so than any other period in my life - has been littered with the sad news of untimely deaths of people i was either close to at one point in my life or relatives of people i'm close to. and then there have been two heartbreaking situations that i am close to that have in ways resolved themselves this summer. and why am i divulging all of this sadness on my blog? i guess all of these sad, hard times that i have either witnessed or experienced lately have really got me thinking. and i needed some sort of outlet to sort out and remember my thoughts about it..

first off, these two public deaths have their silver linings. they have opened up conversations of depression and addiction that need to be addressed. and although they left loved ones and fans behind, they have left their incredible legends behind for others to learn and grow from. and i am a firm believer that there is more to life than this earthly phase and i'm sure they will be able to find their peace and are in a better place. 

i have also come to realize just how strong and resilient people are. i have been so incredibly inspired by how people have handled their different trials. even when outsiders would completely understand these people crumbling or giving up hope, they haven't. life keeps moving and they have kept moving with it. it's beyond admirable to me when people ride out life's storms without giving up hope that it will all make sense one day.

and one last lesson all of these things have engrained in me is that i have no clue what other people are going through behind the scenes. even though people may only put a happy persona out there for the world to see, everyone has their trying times. no one's life is perfect and we should never assume so. in the wise words of plato, "be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle." these are basic things we have all heard before, but they are so easy to forget. which i guess why i like blogging about them? to help me remember. that life really is short. it really is unpredictable. it really is hard. but it really is worth it. and i just want to always remember to forget the petty things and enjoy the little things.