katiedalton01

Katie, Interrupted

There was one very difficult moment in my life that forced me to adapt to a world I never imagined possible. My brother, Drew, died at the age of twenty-six, three weeks before I would graduate from high school. At first, I felt nothing, as if he were gone on another business trip, or maybe he took early leave to the Bob Segar concert that he was going to see that weekend. Despite our eight-year age difference we were close, and when I finally accepted that he would never come back from where he had gone the sadness started to creep in. It was this same sadness that took over my life and shut the rest of the world out. I didn’t understand why my brother had to leave so soon, and as a result I became very bitter and angry. Even as I began my first year of college I found myself initially avoiding people all together. I really couldn’t see the light at the end of the tunnel for this one. However, I did have friends and parents that refused to let me become a hermit. They listened when I would talk, and encouraged me to enjoy college. After all, Drew had a deep love for the Georgia Bulldogs, and I should at least go for him. With that in mind, and over time, that transitioned to me going for me. With the fondest of memories of my brother remaining with me, I am able to continue making the best of my life. I will be forever changed because of the unfortunate fate my brother suffered so early in his life, but in a bittersweet way I came out stronger, or in other words: I survived.

So who am I now? Well, I’m sure you would love for me to say that I took all the anger and bitterness and channeled it towards developing the greatest scientific theory that simultaneously accomplished world peace. Unfortunately, that’s not the case, although I aim to do so. Crazy idea, but despite my humble beginnings in rural Madison County, I still have the hopes of being someone great someday. Science seems to hold that promise to me. With so much to be done with regards to medicine, alternative resources, and technology improvements beyond imaginable, who knows where I could end up? But for now, I enjoy life’s simplest of moments. Curling up with a good book on Sunday afternoons, tasting Athens’s cuisine with friends in free time, exchanging the cheesy jokes written on Laffy Taffy wrappers with anyone who will listen, and satisfying temporary cravings of animated movies when I’m feeling particularly nostalgic. All that aside, I’m just your average Joe, with hopes of having that ‘American Dream’ with the white picket fence in my future. As for my life now, I’m taking it as it comes and doing the best with what I’ve got.