2018.3.4
“Outtakes”. A snippet of thoughts to kick off this blog post:
Below is an account of my experience as I listened to Kevin Hines tell the story of jumping off the Golden Gate Bridge, and surviving. It was nothing short of amazing to hear his story and it made me feel that we can all make a difference in someone’s life by just showing them that we care.
What I am looking forward to putting into practice, or continuing:
Continuing to find ways to spread positivity and make people feel good.
Quote(s) that resonated with me this week:
A smile and hello can make someone’s day. Showing that you care can save someone’s life.
“I’ve learned that people forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” ~ Maya Angelou
This past week was a busy one. Between the daily routine, unexpected events that inevitably come up, the scare at Staples High School, where I worked for the last 14 years (story, here), and the class of 2022 incoming freshman transition night (which was well attended and amazing), I was able to attend another Brainstorm Experience event that was put on by The Avielle Foundation. Their mission is, “to prevent violence and build compassion through neuroscience research, community engagement, and education”. I attended their inaugural event last month where they brought in Steve Gross from the Life is Good Foundation to speak on the power of positivity and optimism. It was tremendous. Feel free to check out a blog post I wrote about it, here.
This event was titled, “An evening with Kevin Hines: I jumped from the Golden Gate Bridge, and survived.” He also has a book called, “Cracked Not Broken, Surviving and Thriving After A Suicide Attempt”. Kevin gave some background on his life and the tough upbringing in a mixed, adopted family in California. Where appropriate, he infused humor throughout his talk, but the seriousness of his message was never lost. Mental health, and his mental state since he was a teenager, were a strong part of his story. Kevin was medicated and institutionalized several times during his relatively short life and still has struggles to this day.
It was incredible to hear a firsthand account of what was going through his head before, during, and after such an event. Unfortunately, leading up to his walk to the middle of the bridge, Kevin felt this was the only option, that no one cared, that him taking his life would be better off for everyone else. He shared that if someone simply asked him any of the following, “How are you today? Are you okay? Can I help you?”, he would have stopped. Instead, the only acknowledgment that he got was people staring at him and commenting on him talking to himself on the bus to the bridge. When he saw someone approaching him, and thought that he may be saved, it was a woman who asked him to take a photo of her. She never engaged in any conversation, he never even saw her eyes through the dark sunglasses that she was wearing. His next steps were over the edge of the railing. Then, he jumped. His last thought as he watched his hand leave the railing was that he did not want to die. It was too late. 200+ feet to the water. Hitting it was close to landing on concrete. Somehow he hit, was conscious, surfaced, and survived, but not without serious injury. As he lay in the water with several broken bones, he felt something bump into him. He thought it was a shark and expressed the irony that he felt from surviving a jump from the Golden Gate Bridge only to be eaten by a shark. Instead, it was a sea lion that he affectionately named Herbert (which, happens to be my father’s name). Kevin truly believes that Herbert helped keep him afloat until help arrived to pull him out of the water.
Following this nothing short of unbelievable day, Kevin continues to have many physical and mental challenges but he has made it his mission to share his story and help others hear, learn, and understand his message of living mentally healthy. I also took away the clear message that we all need to be considerate of people’s differences. We never know what someone may be going through at any given time, but we can do our part by lending a helping hand, or a smile, or simply making eye contact and saying hello.
The year after Kevin jumped, his adopted father wanted to help provide some closure. Against his will, Kevin joined his father at the exact spot that he jumped from. A rush of emotions came back to him but he knew he was there for a reason. In a symbolic manner, he dropped a flower that he had held in his hand for some time. It floated down the same distance, from the same spot, that he had jumped from a year earlier, only much slower and much more gracefully. As it hit the water, there was a series of ripples followed by a head that came up from under the water. Whether it was the same sea lion or not, Kevin believed that it was Herbert, looking up as if to say “hello” to his friend whose life he saved, physically, mentally, and emotionally…
Kevin closed with a great quote from Master Oogway from Kung Fu Panda fame, “Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, and today is a gift, that's why they call it present”... There is much wisdom in this quote from a cartoon movie. Words that we can all live by and be better off for it.
Thanks for taking the time to check out my blog. Have a great week!
Tags: #BrainstormExperience, @KevinHinesStory, #BrainHealth, @AvieFoundation
Please feel free to contact or follow me:
Twitter: @DavidGusitsch
Blog: https://davidgusitsch.blogspot.com/
Email: david.gusitsch@ncps-k12.org
Here are a few pictures from the Kevin Hines Brainstorm Experience event:
The program from the event:
Kevin Hines telling his story:
The Q&A session at the end of the event:
Some tweets and quotes from the event:
One of my favorite quotes of all time, which was relevant to the story that Kevin Hines shared. This quote happens to hang in the main hallway at NCHS:
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