I had a hard time thinking of what to write here, as hearing about what happened came as a huge shock to me. I’m so sad and feel so bad for Maddy, knowing that he was struggling so much and going through something so painful. This is even more shocking because I never would have expected something like this to happen for him. Granted, we hadn’t seen each other much since high school, and the last time I saw him was over the holidays almost two years ago, however from my memories of our friendship and experiences together, he was not someone that I worried about. So all the more, I hate to think that he may have been struggling in private for a long time, and that he put on a brave face to continue being all of the positive things people have mentioned here.
I have a lot of memories with Maddy, having been friends with him throughout middle and high school. Being friends with him led to all kinds of fun, adventurous, mischievous, hilarious moments, whether it be skiing, backpacking with our dads, sneaking out at night during sleepovers, going to concerts, scaring trick or treaters on Halloween, or taking a bus to another town just to get unlimited chicken wings during the summer. The last time I saw him was at my family’s holiday party, and at the end it was just him and two of our other longtime friends, laughing and having a great time as if it hadn’t been four years since we were in school together. I’ll always remember your laughter, your enthusiasm for bold things in life (adventurous or mischievous), and your undeniably affable personality that was like a magnet, drawing everyone in. Rest easy Maddy, you’ve been in my thoughts everyday, so I know you’re embracing everybody in your life from where you are now.