Draven Rodriguez was a young man who wanted to be different, at least in his high-school yearbook photo.
And he went through channels to try to make that happen. Schenectady High School didn't allow his photo to also include his rescue cat, Mr. Bigglesworth. It was a viral sensation, though, on the Internet.
In addition, the principal Diane Wilkinson decided that in her photo in the yearbook would be a group one. That contained Wilkinson, her own rescue dog, Rodriguez and Mr. Bigglesworth That might have helped the plight of animals in shelter who needed homes.
Those at his school and his parents at home also saw him gifted in his ability to make friends.
Yet, reports NBC News, Rodriquez, 17, years old, took his own life. Until now, the media have been filled with coverage about the myriad suicides among promising students in college.
Because of the string of recent suicides at the University of Pennsylvania, there was a deep dive into what might be triggering such severe mental health issues. Here is the resulting report. Essentially, students received some kind of message that they had to be perfect. Of course, that's impossible to measure up to.
Now, we bear witness to a suicide in high school, of an imaginative yet rule-abiding student with a lot of friends.
What are we as a society or supposed protector of the next generation missing? And/or what are high school and college students missing that we Baby Boomers had that prevented us from pulling the plug?