Thoughts over the year, Scenes from a Memory. (a note I wrote for my own facebook earlier)
Displaying the only post.
Post #1
Stephen Abodeely (Keene State) wrote 7 hours ago.
"Oh,
I'm going to get through this, I know that. I know because there are
things I want to do that I can't do if I don't get through it"
~Stanford Mark Larsen, 8/5/1988 - 1/23/2007
So much can be said from that quote from the Nashua Telegraph. At that time, Stanford was valiantly fighting a horrible cancer which had nearly claimed his life only a few short weeks earlier. Stan had an incredible mentality from his graduation day when he fell ill on his graduation day until the very last moments of his life. It's a great thought that such an incredible human could touch so many people so deeply.
His life was one lead in a way that anyone could be envious of. He never had any problems with anyone, and always dealt with any issues that arose with the most positive attitued, but that's just the beginning. He was presented with an issue far worse than most of us have ever dealt with. Knowingly suffering from such a vicious disease, he just didn't give himself reason to be upset, and instead just let himself keep an optimistic attitude, knowing deep inside that he was going to survive.
To most of us his mentality as far as his survival would seem ridiculous, but thinking deeper, it is only logical that in that situation you would give yourself the most optimistic outlook on your future. If someone spends the most difficult parts of their life just moping around then things wouldn't ever get better. While it is true that some things are irreversible, I believe that Stans willingness to get any treatment that the doctors recommended was a sign of just how bright his outlook was. The quote I started this note on shows that mentality. As far as anyone is concerned, in the worst of times you can always look past that and give yourself things to look forward to.
I remember that day so well though when he passed away, and even though it's sad to recall, I do remember one thing so clearly. When I saw Stan on his deathbed, he had a blanket over himself that showed Spongebob Squarepants. The blanket had the text at the foot that said "This is the Best Day Ever". I still debate sometimes to this day whether Stan was hopeful to survive still at that day, or if he was looking forward to the loving embrace of God's arms, but i do know that either way, what he was looking forward to on that "Best Day Ever" is something that can serve as an inspiration for us all.
I know that there's so much more I can learn from Stan that I haven't or I've just ignored, but one thing this reflection has taught me is that as humans we all learn so much in our lives but listen to so little. Sometimes you must spend a bit of time looking at your own life through someone else's eyes. Only then will you be able to see all that means so much to you.
Now I know that I didn't tag everyone in this note, but these are the people I feel knew me or Stan or both very well at the time. I think it's a great idea for everyone to read this note though. I know this advice may mean more to me than it does you, but consider all that it says, and it shows how great stans mentality to life was.
If anyone needs more info on Stan, then you can visit www.stanfordlarsen.org and learn more about him, there's a full e-mail archive of his status on there as well as links to pictures from throughout his life and much much more.
Thank you for your time,
Steve.
~Stanford Mark Larsen, 8/5/1988 - 1/23/2007
So much can be said from that quote from the Nashua Telegraph. At that time, Stanford was valiantly fighting a horrible cancer which had nearly claimed his life only a few short weeks earlier. Stan had an incredible mentality from his graduation day when he fell ill on his graduation day until the very last moments of his life. It's a great thought that such an incredible human could touch so many people so deeply.
His life was one lead in a way that anyone could be envious of. He never had any problems with anyone, and always dealt with any issues that arose with the most positive attitued, but that's just the beginning. He was presented with an issue far worse than most of us have ever dealt with. Knowingly suffering from such a vicious disease, he just didn't give himself reason to be upset, and instead just let himself keep an optimistic attitude, knowing deep inside that he was going to survive.
To most of us his mentality as far as his survival would seem ridiculous, but thinking deeper, it is only logical that in that situation you would give yourself the most optimistic outlook on your future. If someone spends the most difficult parts of their life just moping around then things wouldn't ever get better. While it is true that some things are irreversible, I believe that Stans willingness to get any treatment that the doctors recommended was a sign of just how bright his outlook was. The quote I started this note on shows that mentality. As far as anyone is concerned, in the worst of times you can always look past that and give yourself things to look forward to.
I remember that day so well though when he passed away, and even though it's sad to recall, I do remember one thing so clearly. When I saw Stan on his deathbed, he had a blanket over himself that showed Spongebob Squarepants. The blanket had the text at the foot that said "This is the Best Day Ever". I still debate sometimes to this day whether Stan was hopeful to survive still at that day, or if he was looking forward to the loving embrace of God's arms, but i do know that either way, what he was looking forward to on that "Best Day Ever" is something that can serve as an inspiration for us all.
I know that there's so much more I can learn from Stan that I haven't or I've just ignored, but one thing this reflection has taught me is that as humans we all learn so much in our lives but listen to so little. Sometimes you must spend a bit of time looking at your own life through someone else's eyes. Only then will you be able to see all that means so much to you.
Now I know that I didn't tag everyone in this note, but these are the people I feel knew me or Stan or both very well at the time. I think it's a great idea for everyone to read this note though. I know this advice may mean more to me than it does you, but consider all that it says, and it shows how great stans mentality to life was.
If anyone needs more info on Stan, then you can visit www.stanfordlarsen.org and learn more about him, there's a full e-mail archive of his status on there as well as links to pictures from throughout his life and much much more.
Thank you for your time,
Steve.