I don't know him. I've never met him. I don't even go to his school. But I know what it feels like to feel hopeless and to think that there's only way to end the pain. Knowing that there was someone out there who felt that way is so painful, and to know that they weren't as lucky as me and didn't have anyone to save them hurts even more.
Everyone seems to be saying that he was the happiest person. Sadly, some people are better at hiding their pain than others. We don't paint our mental health on our foreheads. We don't put our mental illnesses on our instagram feeds. We don't outwardly say, "I don't want to live anymore."
There's this misconception that people who are struggling with their mental health just stay in bed all day, cry all the time, don't eat, and don't spend time with people they love. Yes, some people may show signs of depression or other issues in that way, but not everyone does. Some people, like myself, have "high-functioning" mental illnesses, which means that they function relatively normally-- they still go to classes and social events, get their work done, and do what they need to get done on a daily basis. However, inside they are struggling just as much as those who aren't high functioning. Most schools don't teach students about high-functioning, or smiling, depression, and often times, that's when depression is the most dangerous.
Knowledge is power. Stigma is killing us. We need to educate ourselves and we need to check up on those people who smile all the time and seem to be functioning normally. Especially with men, who are often so afraid of expressing themselves because of the pressure to be "manly." We need to understand that depression does not discriminate, depression does not mean crying all the time, and depression is not a weakness.