Denise Trigo, Rhy’s Above Board of Directors Secretary. In life, a person meets all types of people. I know you may have heard this before. But it is true. Some people you know for a lifetime, some for a shorter time. Some nurture you, some strengthen you. I am sure you are already trying to figure out which type Rhyland was for me. Well, he was the type who made me grow.
Many consider me a laid back person, and for the most part I am. But Rhyland had this innate ability to push my buttons. It felt like almost a game sometimes he created, because whenever he found a button that frustrated me, he seemed to be smirking. It wasn’t because he didn’t care about me, because I believe if he didn’t care he wouldn’t have even tried. And sometimes, like last year, when I was working hard on me and would post a workout on Snapchat, he also would respond to my snap with a simple, “Way to go Mrs. T.” He cared! A lot! Maybe too much!
His loyalty to his friends was beyond. I will not go into the ways that I saw he helped some friends because some of those stories are personal to them and/or me. But just know he was loyal. He would use humor to calm down situations, even if those involved were not his friends. He was a good friend to my son.
I am here because a bright light like Rhyland should never go out. I wish he reached out more. I wish I had reached out more. I wish he would have let us into the darkness he felt so we could hold his hand and lead him back to the light. Sometimes I was hard on him because I cared. Did he realize that? I don’t know, but I wish I could go back and be clear about that.
I am here because I want anyone who is stuck in that darkness to scream out for help. I want them to know that people care more than they know. I want them to talk and I want others to listen. But most of all I want us all to work together to take the stigma out of talking about how we feel. I want to guide others out of the dark and into the light.