Buried Classmate

Yesterday I buried a classmate of mine. A member of the great class of 2012 died last week, and this week our entire class shipped down to Maryland to honor his life at the wake and funeral.

Although I didn't personally know Kenny Link (1990-2010), I have heard nothing but positive things about him. It was terribly sad for me to see his family and their pain, and it was especially sad for me to see some of my classmates hurt over the loss. If there is one thing that I have really seen through this whole experience, it is that the service I am in is truly a huge family. We take care of our people and are always there for each other.

I regret that I never talked to Kenny, I passed him several times in the passageways of our dorm, but that was during 4/c year when we couldn't talk to each other outside of our rooms. He was, however, a member of my class, and as such I am happy to have had the opportunity to honor him at his memorial.

This loss has really made me think about my priorities in life. The fragility and brevity of life is something that I have dismissed for most of my life, and yet Kenny was younger than I at the same school I attend. He is now gone. It definitely makes me take a long look at what is truly important to me.

I hope I never have to bury a classmate again, or a close friend, for that matter. But what Kenny has taught me is a lesson I won't soon forget, and for that I am thankful. Life goes on, but it is how we live it that defines who we are. I, as I'm sure most of you would agree, would like to leave a legacy behind. Kenny did that.

Now, more than ever, is time to saddle up and start living like God has called me to.


And in a completely unrelated note, after staying the night at the service academy in Annapolis, I am more than confident that I made the right choice for me in coming to the Academy that I attend. I'm sure they have a great program going on, and some people would prefer to be at a large school with limited personality, but I on the other hand prefer a school where the class size is small enough to allow deep friendships with any or all of one's classmates, if they so desire. I would like to see any of the other service academies send an entire class to a town 6 hours away so that they could be part of their classmate's funeral. It was impressive, a bonding experience for our class, and I couldn't be more proud to be part of this organization.

That should just about wrap up my thoughts for the night...
- Storm