Hero (Red Pill Remix)

Yesterday marked the fourth week since Tyler passed away, and yet I feel like only a few moments of my own lifetime have gone by. I feel like a big part of me is still locked in the moment when I heard the news, and many other little pieces of my heart are scattered throughout time, within all of the memories I shared with Tyler. But I can't go get them and piece them back together because memories can only be revisited in the mind, not relived in life. It hurts, but at the exact same time it is almost comforting, because it makes the memories dearer to me. I find that one of the things that has helped me the most through this time has been sharing these memories with other people, and watching their faces light up as they hear about Tyler's life. And they always make the same statement, "I wish I could have met him."

Me too... me too.

Last week I made it a full mile on the treadmill. I have been going to the gym often. I mean, duh... I have a marathon to run in less than a year. But I have never been one for physical activities like working out or running. In fact, I've never enjoyed running, and I'm not a fan of the strain and pain working out puts on my body. But whenever I feel discouraged by it, all I have to do is think of Tyler, and in my heart, I feel as though he is encouraging me to push on. And so I can. It's really nice, actually.

I wanted to share another song. This one is more of a call to action than anything... one I wish I would have answered a long, long time ago. But as you listen to it and read the words, I would encourage you to evaluate your own life because chances are, it fits somewhere in this song...

_____

"No one sits with him
He doesn't fit in
But we feel like we do when we make fun of him
'Cause you want to belong
Do you go along?
'Cause his pain is the price paid for you to belong
It's not like you hate him or want him to die
But maybe he goes home and thinks suicide
Or he comes back to school with a gun at his side
Any kindness from you might have saved his life


Heroes are made when you make a choice


You could be a hero; heroes do what's right
You could be a hero; you might save a life
You could be a hero; you could join the fight
For what's right, for what's right
For what's right


No one talks to her she feels so alone
She's in too much pain to survive on her own
The hurt she can't handle overflows to a knife
She writes on her arm; wants to give up her life
Each day she goes on is a day that she's brave
Fighting the lie that giving up is the way
Each moment of courage, her own life she saves
When she throws the pills out, a hero is made


Heroes are made when you make a choice

You could be a hero; heroes do what's right

You could be a hero; you might save a life

You could be a hero; you could join the fight

For what's right, for what's right

For what's right

No one talks to him about how he lives

He thinks that the choices he makes are just his

Doesn't know he's a leader with the way he behaves

And others will follow the choices he's made

He lives on the edge he's old enough to decide

His brother who wants to be him is just nine

He can do what he wants because it's his right

The choices he makes change a nine-year-old's life

Heroes are made when you make a choice

You could be a hero; heroes do what's right

You could be a hero; you might save a life

You could be a hero; you could join the fight

For what's right, for what's right

For what's right

Little Mikey D was the one in class

Who every day got brutally harassed

This went on for years

Until he decided that never again

Would he shed another tear

So he walked through the door, grabbed the four-four

Out of his father's dresser drawer

And said, "I can't take life no more!"

And like that... life can be lost

But this ain't even about that

All of us just sat back and watched it happen

Thinking, "it's not my responsibility to solve a problem

This isn't even about me..."

This is our problem!

This is just one of the daily scenarios

Which we choose to close our eyes

Instead of doing the right thing

If we make a choice to be the voice

For those who won't speak up for themselves

How many lives will be saved

Changed, and rearranged

Now it's our time to pick a side

So don't keep walking by not wanting to intervene

'Cause you just want to exist and never be seen

So let's wake up, change the world

Our time is now!

You could be a hero; heroes do what's right (Our time is now!)

You could be a hero; you might save a life (Our time is now!)

You could be a hero; you could join the fight (Our time is now!)

For what's right, for what's right

For what's right

_____

I think everyone has a role in this song. You may be the the one who gets teased in school. You may be the one doing the teasing. Or perhaps you're the one whose kindness is needed. Maybe you're the girl in pain who is becoming a hero again every day by simply living. Maybe you're the one setting an example, or the one following it. I hope not, but maybe you're like little Mikey D. No matter who you are, you have a place in this song. You have a place in the stories. And no matter what, you have the opportunity to be the hero in them. It all begins by reaching out, either for help or to help someone else, and I would like to encourage each and every one of you to do that starting today.