It took me a few days, but I finally went to see the memorial for Chester at Warner Brothers Records. It's beautiful, with handwritten notes from fans, and lots of candles and flowers.
You know, I've never had the feelings I had this past week. Such heartbreak, and confusion, sadness, and more heartbreak. There are so many of us who were so deeply affected by the tragic, and sudden loss. He not only was someone I loved to be around, but he sang songs that shifted my life. That shifted lots of our lives. He was the voice of teenagers, of adults, of women, of men, of people with mental illness, people who had their hearts broken, people who didn't know how they could get through one more day.
We all seem to relate music to certain times in our lives. We coincide events in our own lives, with certain songs, certain albums. For me, it was A Thousand Suns, and a song called "Iridescent." It coincided with the hardest time in my life, in 2010. The words spoke to me. The emotion spoke to me. It shifted my way of thinking, in knowing that I wasn't alone. I've heard that so much on social media in the past week. People referring back to certain Linkin Park songs that saved their lives. They made them speak to their parents again. That pulled them out of a dark place, because they too, knew they weren't alone.
Their latest record, One More Light, now takes on a whole different meaning for a lot of us now. Listening back to the words Chester is singing, hearing his sadness, hearing the truth in the lyrics, completely makes sense. Maybe it was his own cry for help. Maybe it was just therapeutic. We'll never know, I guess.
We sure do love you Chester. You are so deeply missed.
If you or anyone you know needs help, please reach out to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255.