Name: Valentin, Agustin Laurence A.

Section: BSA I-2

Entry for: Writing Competition
Date: October 17, 2022

Seven Days of Life, Death, and Rebirth

"On the first day of this particular week, my once normal life has been turned upside-down. In an
instant, all of the colors vanished, and they were suddenly replaced by shades of greys, whites,
and blacks— the colors of sadness, despair, and madness. By the end of the first day, the idea of
ending my life enters my mind, but I just ignore it"

Tragedies visit our lives without permission. The suddenness of it can feel like you've been hit
by a 16-wheeler truck, and its impact can last forever even if the wounds are all gone and fully-
healed. The scars on the heart will stay though, and it can even affect the people that surround
you.

"On the second day, everything in my life is continuously getting worse. The monochromatic
colors are plaguing my sense of vision, and I'm also starting to feel like the color gray on the
inside. By the end of the second day, I amuse myself by asking myself while chuckling, "What if
I end it all!?""

Sadness is like that one toxic friend that you can't just get rid of. It will cling to you like an
invisible octopus, and it will gradually poison your mind and soul until it is able to transform you
into someone who's definitely similar to you, but also not quite like you.

"On the third day, all I can see is grey. The sky is grey. The plants and trees are grey. Every
inanimate objects that I have seen today are also grey. Even the people I saw and had interacted
with are color grey. My family and friends are grey. What's going on!? I can't take this anymore!
By the end of the third day, I consider ending it all, but I don't have the courage to do it."
Despair is the complete opposite of hope. A heart full of hope is light, warm, and energy. On the
other hand, a heart full of despair is sunken, cold, and barely moving. We have to save a person
in despair as soon as we can or else we'll see them drown in their own agony.

"On the fourth day, all I feel is pain. No. It is not my body who's feeling the pain. My mind is
aching. My heart is also aching. Forget that! My whole soul is aching! It's aching so bad! I need
to end this pain! By the end of the fourth day, the idea of ending my own life was starting to
sound promising."

Madness is all-consuming. It's an immense force that can topple even the strongest of all people.
It destroys you as a person physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. Everyone compares
it to a dark, bottomless pit, but I disagree. Madness can be ended. I believe it can be ended. It has
to.

"On the fifth day, I feel empty. I'm made of human flesh, but that's all I am. Inside, I'm nothing
but a void. It's sad but it also feels peaceful. I shouldn't find tranquility in such a melancholic
state, but maybe this is.how you'd feel when you're about to end your life. By the end of the fifth
day, I made up my mind to end my own life tomorrow."

Emptiness is depression in its most destructive form. It's quite deadly, and it had claimed so
many lives throughout Earth's history. What's the point of existing in this world when you're just
barely moving, barely breathing, and barely alive? Is there nothing that we can do to save them?
There is a way to save a person being consumed by the feeling of emptiness. We have to fill
person up with love, with compassion, and with sympathy. To save an empty person, we jave tp
fill them with all things warm.

"On the sixth day, I've made.up my mind. I'm leaving this cruel world with a bang by jumping
off this building's rooftop. It's so strange seeing people down below as they continue to go on to
wherever they are needed to be there. They remind me of who I was before the tragedy. What am
I doing? I need to hurry up, stop delaying this, and get this over with already, but just as I was
about to jump off the rooftop, an angel appeared, and saved me from death. By the end of the
sixth day, my life has been spared."

When it comes to suicide, prevention is better than anything else. There is this feeling you'd
received from being saved from suicide by someone where you'll feet at ease, and more
appreciative of life that has been given to them. Their perspectives will change, and they will see
this as a message from God to hang on, never give up, and fight for life.

"On the seventh day, I've been resurrected as a newer, tougher, and stronger individual. I was
reborn."