TW: sensitive topics of drug and alcohol abuse

On Tuesday, Sept. 13, 2022, South High hosted a suicide awareness assemble in honor of Suicide Awareness Month. The assembly was hosted by speaker, Nathan Harmon and followed his story and purpose of “Your Life Speaks”.

Through our years of school, we’ve been to many different assemblies and listened to many different speakers, but Nathan brought something special to South. Not only was he engaging, he had a story like no other. Harmon shared his childhood experiences with his father and what led him to depression. He grew up always looking up to his father, but when his father fell victim to drugs and alcohol, Nathan resented him for who he was and promised to never be like his dad. He stuck to his promise, but sometimes loneliness can lead to bad decisions. Nathan started substance abusing heavily in his 20s and then the unthinkable happened. 

One night he was about to go to a party. So, he called up his friend to be his designated driver, but somehow he ended up behind the wheel. Just as he was almost to his friend’s house, he got into the devastating accident that would change his life. His close friend was the passenger and had passed away due to the impact. Nathan was sentenced to 13 years in prison, and the thing that kept him hopeful was what he wrote on his mirror. He wrote “make the world a better place”. He was able to cut his sentence short and began speaking to schools like our own – he was making a difference around the world. 

One way Nathan makes the world a better place is by holding people’s ladders. Nathan had made an analogy with a ladder that was meant to show the steps in your life you take to become the best version of yourself. Each step up is another step towards “you”, but in order to reach the top you’ll need people to steady your ladder. His main question was: who’s ladder are you holding? Meaning, who are you supporting and caring for while they find themselves?

Nathan gave us all something to walk away with that day. He reminded us that we were meant to leave our fingerprints in history, and the most powerful tool we have is our voice and the power of human connection .While our stories may not be similar to Nathan’s, we all have battles and things we struggle with and we will always need someone to hold our ladders. Nathan Harmon spoke to us in a way no one has done before and reminded us that giving up is never the answer, and that your life speaks.