I want to write about this loss, but I’ve taken my fingers off the keyboard five times now. Something in me really doesn’t want to address this, as if by not writing about it maybe it won’t be true.
Carlos Vigil, 17, of Albuquerque, New Mexico was an anti-bullying advocate, but over the weekend he took his own life — the apparent victim of what he fought against.
Bullied much of his life, his parents only found out about three years ago the extent of how much and often the bullying at school occurred.
From Queerty:
As a member of Youth and Government, Carlos pushed for stronger anti-bullying laws. Before Carlos published his suicide note, his friends said he had just returned from a trip out-of-state where he had spoken out against bullying.
“Words can really hurt and I think Carlos…he couldn’t do it anymore,” said Patricia Valles, one of dozens of Carlos’ classmates who showed up to the hospital Monday where he was on life support.
Meanwhile, Carlos’ peers have held fundraisers to help his family and have been inspired in the face of tragedy. “Even though now Carlos is gone, we need to focus on what he left trying to say,” said former classmate Alyssa Cisneros, “that bullying is a problem.”
The suicide note Carlos left behind for the world to see on Twitter is posted below. I’m posting it because Carlos shared it on his Twitter account, so he made a decision he wanted people to see it. AND I think it’s powerful in how it demonstrates the frame of mind kids find themselves after years of being bullied. Maybe actually seeing where kids are in their heads in such dark times will help some to understand how real this problem is.
RIP Carlos Vigil.
