Today is the one year memorial of Tyler Clementi's suicide. It's strange that a year has gone by since I heard the news...and how his legacy and memory lives on so strongly in all of us. Tyler went to Ridgewood High School with me, he was a year younger than me and I'd gone to elementary school, middle school, and high school with him. I'd had a couple gym classes with him in high school, and though I can't say that I knew him on a personal level, I still recognized him for a couple reasons: he was one of the few gingers in school (pride), and he was an incredible musician. I remember that he had almost no interest in gym, and that he even wore socks and sandals to some classes. It wasn't his thing, and he didn't pretend that it was. I wish I'd had the chance to know him further than that, because now I and the rest of my peers, my town, and our community will forever be haunted by his death.
His death was forged by the ignorance and intolerance of his roommate, and Tyler's final act was one of loneliness and certainly made a huge impact on the LGBT movement nationwide. His memory lives on in the legacy of this day, but it shouldn't have to.
I hope that time has helped to ease his family's pain and suffering, and I hope that people start to wake up. This should never have happened, and my heart goes out to anyone who experiences this kind of pain.
RIP Tyler.
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