Tanner+N’s+2017+OpEd+Article

"What's the difference between me and them? How come I ain't in the crowd at they show seeing them? What do guys see in me that he ain't see in them? Cause honestly I see no difference between me and them We all people, all equal, we all the same"

-Logic, on his fans

Growing up, music guided me. It made me happy when I was down, safe when I was scared, and really changed my outlook on life. The tune of a song truly says a lot about the artist's feelings and emotions, and their lyrics make those feelings come to life. Music makes you feel like you know the person, like they're actually talking to you and you're there to listen along the way. But I wish I could respond in a way that they could actually hear me, that they knew I cared about their well-being and what they're doing as a musical artists. For I don't understand why some of my favorite voices I grew up listening to took their lives while seeming so outward and happy in their music.

April 21, 2016 was a very hard day for me. Rogers Nelson, better known as Prince, took his own life that day and I almost didn't go to school. I punched a kid in the 4th grade for calling me gay for listening to Prince because he was my favorite artist, and is still one of my favorites. Not saying being gay is bad, just that that's basically an insult when you're 8. Anyways, out of basically any musical artist I believe Prince would appear as the last person to commit suicide. In bright, flashy outfits dancing, singing, and playing guitar on stage for his fans in the most sassy manner possible, it would seem that he had it all. But obviously, he did not. His suicide note included "need something to make the pain stop, even if it means ending everything somehow." What pain was he feeling? Physical? Mental? Emotional? Spiritual? All four or more? I don't know and I don't want to, because I can't help him anymore and all that that would accomplish is making me feel sadder. Did drugs cause him to be like this? Did he take a lethal dose of Fentanyl because of pain caused by other drugs? I don't know and neither does anyone else, but Prince left us unexpectedly and prematurely because no one knew what was going on in his head.

Bradley Nowell, singer of Sublime, was a rock star who literally had it all. A newborn baby, a loving partner, his beloved dog, and a long and fruitful career ahead of him. But he still shot up enough Heroine to kill him, and he knew it would. So then why did he take his own life? I don't know, and when I listen to his music I try to imagine why a man who seems so happy through his words would be so depressed as to kill himself, and he didn't even leave a note for his family. Why did he take his life? No one knows. No one could tell he was at that mental state to do that. And hence why his death leaves his music with an empty feeling, as if something's just not right.

In //The Perks of Being a Wallflower// by Steven Chbosky, the main character Charlie, shown above, faces certain emotional problems that affect him on a daily basis. One of these is that his best friend throughout middle school shot himself right before Charlie moved away and he didn't leave a note. Charlie doesn't know why this is. Best friends tell each other things, right? No, they don't. Out of fear, embarrassment, shyness, people don't share their feelings of depression.

So what about my aunt? She took her life in 2008 and didn't leave us with anything. One day she was here, the next she wasn't. The purpose of my writing is to show that people need people, and that we're all equal. Help those in need, and seek help when you need it.