Trying To Talk To Someone
Mental anguish and society
Today, I was going to submit another story. On second thought, Why can’t I submit two articles on the same day on Medium? There are no rules that say you must submit one article. It is not the best practice, and you can still do what is called “Batch” or “Stack” writing. It is when you prepare a bunch of articles for publishing, and then you set a schedule, a timetable on when you will publish them. I have seen a lot of articles on the method, which I will be doing in 2023 for all three platforms (Medium, Hubpages, and Vocal Media).
Today is a different kind of submission. A submission I had no plan to do. As you see by the title, it is not a happy article. A young celebrity has killed himself today, and I have for years. From the first time, he was on “So You Think You Can Dance” to the last thing I saw him on, which was Hip Hop Nutcracker on Disney+ a couple of weeks ago. This is all I have to say about Steven “Twitch” Boss. The rest was posted in my Facebook Post:
Disclaimer: I am no expert on suicide. I can only give an account on that I tried twice. The dark feelings that you get as you prepare to take your life are unsettling and disturbing to the point that I urge that if this is you, get help immediately. Call 988, or if you cannot do it, have someone do it. This is a serious matter, and I do not take it lightly.
“I found out how Twitch died from. Folks, no one ever knows what is going through another person’s mind when they commit Suicide, and that is what Twitch did. He was a father, brother, husband, a judge on “So You Think You Can Dance”, and Ellen’s former DJ. He was also the second runner-up when he competed on SYTYCD. These are the things I read just now.
Personally, he was my favorite person to watch, but all those things do not matter if you do not believe in yourself or the pressure of life gets to you to the point where you feel that the only way to get rid of them is to end it. That is not what God wants for you. He wants you to live an abundant life filled with hopes, dreams, and everything that the Father can give you.
I am talking to you from experience. I attempted twice, and I thank God that I did not go through with it, or I would not be sitting here now telling you that there is a better way and a better tomorrow. Depression is no joke. Please, please, please, if you are reading this and you are thinking about taking your life, there is help, but I can only point you toward that help. It is up to you to say to yourself, “I want to live.”
I am going to leave this number, 988. This is the number for you to dial. If you know someone trying to end their life, dial that number for them. It will be one of the best things you can do for them.
I did not know Twitch personally; I only saw him on television. This entertainment industry can be one of the cruelest industries out there. I know we need to be entertained in the United States, but the demands and the pressure to succeed are terrible. I will have to talk about that later. Until later, this has been your PSA for the evening. Have a good one.”
One’s Thoughts
That is all I can say is “one’s thoughts.” No one knows about your thoughts but God. This is about as intimate as it gets. There are two types of thoughts, good and bad. Some good examples are:
“Yay, I am five.”
“I did well on that math test.”
“I look fabulous in this outfit.”
“Not a bad day, but I will do better tomorrow.”
Some bad ones could be:
“I’m stupid.”
“I’m fat.”
“Why can’t I get my finances right?”
“No one loves me.”
I cannot speak about what Twitch was thinking as he was committing this act of violence to himself. Not even his wife, Allison Rooker knew. As I mentioned in my Facebook post, it seemed that he had everything going for him. Sure, the Ellen show ended, but he was a judge and mentor on “So You Think You Can Dance.” I followed him on TikTok and Instagram. There are some things that no one knew about him, including his own family.
Could it have been stress?
Suicide attempts could be from stress. Stress from your job, family, friends, and again finances can trigger it. I came from a world in which I wanted to be an actress, singer, dancer, and musician. I wanted it all. Unfortunately, I did not get my chance to go to Hollywood, record a solo album (my voice is on a couple of local albums), dance in the Nutcracker, or compose a number-one hit, but I wanted it.
You see, Hollywood has this distortion of everyone having to look the same and perform the same, according to a writer or composer’s vision. If a writer composes a novel about a man and his dog, they have in their head what the man looks like and what kind of dog this man has. When the novel goes to production on a movie or television screen, or theater stage, the actors, in the writer’s mind, are supposed to be exactly what is written in the book. This is one of the reasons why there are a lot of rejections in Hollywood and New York. Sometimes you not only have to be talented but look the part as well.
Children are no exception. This is one of the reasons why child actors are rarely seen beyond the age of 18. Some of these child actors turned to drugs, and alcohol and, sadly, committed suicide. There are known cases, such as River Phoenix (who died in 1993 from an overdose), Lee Thompson Young (The Famous Jett Jackson-2013), and Sawyer Sweeten (Everybody Loves Raymond-2015). I am not saying that all child actors do it. Many child actors manage to get adult roles, while the child actors who leave the entertainment industry lead normal lives.
Normal pressures of life.
I am sure that many of these child actors who leave the industry are pressured either by their parents, former agents, or Hollywood to get an adult acting role, but what about the rest of us? There are the pressures of going to college, getting the right job, dating, marrying the right person, having, or not having children, and who they want to socialize with are some of the pressures that I will address in a later article. For now, I will address the obvious, and people are still leaving this earth by suicide.
Conclusion, My way…
Again, I do not know what Steven “Twitch” Boss was going through that led him to leave the world “too soon.” I understand that he was a beautiful soul who loved giving his talents to others, either by teaching or by doing. I heard it in his voice whenever he would critique a dancer on “So You Think You Can Dance,” doing a Tiktok with his wife Allison and his kids or being in a show like “Hip Hop Nutcracker” on Disney+. I know that Twitch will be missed, and I wish he would find other ways of dealing with his “demons.” Maybe he thought about its moments before he committed the act. Very few suicides are planned.
If this sounds like something you have been thinking about, please stop, dial “988” on your phone, and get help immediately. If you know of someone, please dial the number for them. You could save a life, and life is very precious no matter how old the person is. Remember, You Matter!
Update: I re-read my story, and I got Twitch’s wife’s last name wrong. It is not “Rooker” but “Holker”. My apologies.
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Comments (1)
My husband’s father committed suicide when my husband was young. My father in law asked for help from a church and nobody answered. Sadly, suicide is one of those issues that people find hard to get help with. All we can do is be there.