Disclaimer: This story contains details of suicide that may be upsetting to some.
“She was only 30 years old.
Cheslie Kryst.
I don’t know much about her except the headline that she’s no longer with us
…and that she should be.
That second part, I know, without a doubt.
But as a thirty-five-year-old mother of three,
my attention is a bit diverted these days.
What I am sure of though, like real f*ckin’ sure of today and all days,
is that no thirty-year-old
— or any-year-old for that matter —
should ever feel, think or believe that this world or those they love would be better without them.
She was 2019’s Miss USA.
A Miss USA who had a legal degree, whose cause and the fight was social injustice, and who regularly reported on camera for the E Network as one of her very many tasks.
From what I understand, she was a daughter, friend, sister, mentor, and colleague, and beloved by her family and friends.
What I don’t understand is how we keep letting this happen.
As a community.
As a ‘people.’
I know that we don’t have absolute control.
But we have some.
And we have the power to make sure that the people in our lives and even those humans we only occasionally come into contact with or even just those we interact with only on social media KNOW that they have support and that their value is
ever-present,
unwavering,
and everlasting.
As a collective group,
as the makerupers of humanity,
we have a job to be there for one another,
and we have not been rising to the occasion.
But we will.
We need to.
We must.
Lives depend on it, as you can see.
She was only 30 years old.
I didn’t know her.
But we all know a lot of hers.
Men and women and sadly even children who seem to have everything going for them who
just.
don’t.
know.
how.
much.
they.
mean.
to.
the.
world.
How important they are.
And they need to.
And it’s our responsibility to tell them.
To show them.
To make sure they never doubt it.
Here’s my promise to do a better job of building up every person I come into contact with.
I hope you’ll vow to do the same.
I’m sending a tremendous amount of love and prayers to all affected by this tragedy, to Cheslie in heaven, and to anyone who needs some love and support in this very (or any upcoming) moment.
Forever and always, people are on your side, and we promise to do a better job of showing it.”
[If you’re thinking about hurting yourself, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 or visit suicidepreventionhotline.org to live chat with someone. Help is out there. You are not alone.]
This story was submitted to Love What Matters by Nicole Merritt of Jthreenme. You can follow her on Facebook, her website, or podcast. Get her new book, Musings for Mom, here. Submit your own story here. Be sure to subscribe to our free email newsletter for our best stories, and YouTube for our best videos.
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