The BBC website carried a tragic story written by a mother about her son. He had always been carefree and a little mischievous. He wasn’t a genius but he worked hard enough to get into a English university. After they dropped him off there, they didn’t hear much from him. They called him repeatedly, but he never called back.
Their son did come home for holidays and he seemed OK, but when he went back to school he closed them off again. They called the university to see how he was doing academically. Because of privacy laws – just like in the United States – they were told nothing.
A while later, in his second year, they found out he had dropped out. He tried to become a fireman, but failed. He ended up in a low-level clerk job but often hinted that better things were coming – things which his parents later found were imaginary.
The parents went on a short vacation and when they returned home they found a handwritten note on the door. The police wanted the parents to call them. They called and were told their son had taken his life. He was only 20 years old.
The mother titled her article, “I wish I’d told my son he could start again after dropping out.” He had a caring family and good friends. What he didn’t have is any hope.
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“I wish I’d told my son he could start again after dropping out,” by Zoe, September 10, 2017; BBC: Magazine.
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[Previous illustration at this number was a duplicate of HolwickID #5006]