Belton students host vigil

On May 25, the students of Belton Independent School District (BISD) and the community of Belton gathered together to honor Sophomore Alexander Jay “A.J.” Howard and Senior German “Andres” Martinez-Bazen II with an evening vigil.

“After hearing of A.J. and Andres' passing, I thought about how nobody was doing anything for them. So I talked to my mom about it and she emailed our principal and it just went from there. We wanted to do something in remembrance of them. One student wrote a song and other students had ideas also. So we decided to combine everything together,” said BISD Sophomore Patreice Williams.

As students came together, the voice of comfort took hold so healing could begin. Students were given the opportunity to express their emotions through writing a dedication to Andres on a remembrance banner. BISD student Paul Guiterrez opened the vigil with a song written and dedicated to the students. The evening was filled with mixed feelings of happiness and sadness as friends and family members gave tribute to their passing friends.

A few moments of silence gripped the crowd as words by Andres was read.

“The Greatest Lost: Death is not the greatest lost in life; the greatest lost in life is what dies inside us while we live. This quote by Norman Cousins has been very clear to me ever since I lost my grandma in 2011. I started to know the meaning of it when she passed away. To me, it means that death isn't the worst part of losing someone; the worst part is how it changes you and your loved ones. It gave me a deeper understanding of what life is really about; almost like a wake-up call. After she passed my entire family was in a deep depression. One of the hardest things to take in was seeing all my aunts and cousins crying; that is something I never want to experience again. I overcame all of this by looking at the positive side of things and having an optimistic mindset. I believe that to every negative there is a positive. The positive thing is that she is now in a better place. I remember my uncle, the eldest and the wisest of the family, telling us that she was in a better place and there is nothing to be sad about. I believe in that and I still do to this day. The lesson I learned from this is to always have a positive mindset because life is just way too short to be sad, mad, or depressed. Every aspect of life should be looked at in that manner. It helps you to overcome challenges and makes you mentally stronger in an extraordinary way. That is what I have learned and took from this life experience,” written by Andres in September 2015.

As darkness fell, an overwhelming presence of reality occurred as hundreds of balloons were released to signify the moment of letting go.