On Wednesday, I covered a memorial on campus (Sonoma State)for a student who passed away in his sleep recently.
It was probably both one of the most heart-warming and depressing experiences I have had. There had to be over 800 people in attendance; from family members of the deceased to friends and class mates.
Even though I never met the student who passed, there’s a bond created when covering stories like these.
Researching whom the person was, interviewing friends and relatives whose lives he was a part of, photographing loved ones in such a dark hour of their lives. After all this, understanding you won’t ever meet the person. They have passed, they no longer walk this earth with you.
Just some thoughts, and a way for me to debrief what happened last night.
Something I wrote last night
Death is unavoidable, I stand here reporting on another memorial, another death. I am unsure why I always agree with covering death.
It eats me from the inside, even when the death is of someone I never knew or met.
I don’t get to speak to him, but I get to speak to his loved ones who were there in memory.
I see everyone in this dark time during their lives and I become a part of it.
Gustavo Vasquez 