The Enriching...

Now that everything was done and over with, I had to go back to school. Thanksgiving break passed and I have finals approaching very fast. The last few weeks of school were a blur to me. Nothing was making sense and I had no one to really go to down at school. I remember spending countless nights on the sixth floor study lounge just staring at my laptop. It was still hard to comprehend on what had happened still. It almost didn't seem real. When the time got closer to taking finals I had to go speak with my History Professor. I was struggling in the class because in the class we had a weekly assignment of reading around 100 pages and answering around 50 questions about the book, not to mention the tests in the class were very difficult. When I spoke with him I explained everything that was happening to me, in my first semester at Ball State. I asked if there was anything I could do for extra credit or anything at all to help me pass the class. He gave me his condolences and then told me that if I failed then I could just retake the class... After leaving his office I felt so angry, so frustrated that someone could be so heartless. He knew I did all of my homework and worked so hard in that class but he didn't even take it into consideration. I then realized you can't expect any help from anyone.

Finally, finals week came. I have never been so stressed out in my entire life; I just wanted to get everything over with and go home. I remember it being really cold because it was the beginning of December. I got all my finals done except my History Final. I spent 3 nights before this pulling all nighters just studying for my finals. I remember when I was sitting at my desk I pulled my cell phone out and text my dad. I texted him, "Wish me luck dad", then took my test...

After all my finals were done I went straight home to spend a 3 week winter vacation with my family. I needed this break so bad. I remember telling myself over and over again, if I could get through this semester, then I can get through just about anything. I remember not doing anything for the whole vacation; it was so nice to just sit around and space out. When Christmas approached I didn't know how I was going to handle it. Usually we spend one day with my Dad and then one day with my Mom. I remember waking up Christmas day and just feeling blah. It sucked so bad knowing that I wouldn't be driving over to my Dad's to spend the day with him. After opening some presents and spending time with family, me and my siblings drove over to my brother's house to spend time with them. When sitting in the room I noticed something I have never noticed before. I noticed that we, my siblings, were filling the roles that my dad used to fill. We were becoming adults, becoming the aunts and uncles, moms and dads... I then realized that we were making memories for our nieces and nephews. I smiled just at the thought of it... Everything was going to be alright.

The Aftermath...

After the very stressful night the family and I now had so much to do. So many things that needed to be done in the next couple days. This was the first time I had to be a part of the whole funeral process. We had to go to the funeral home and arrange all of his things. We knew that my father wanted to be cremated and didn't want us to spend a bunch of money on him after he passed away. 


After all that was done I decided that I was going to make a little slideshow collage for him at his funeral. At first I didn't know how long it was going to take to get it done. I started off by scanning pictures onto my laptop and just putting things together. Then I started to add some videos in as well. Then for the finishing touch I added some of his favorite songs. I ended up staying up all night putting this slideshow together.


It was emotional putting everything together because I saw all the memories I had with him in his short life... But I did learn while putting the video together that he lived a very full life. It's truly amazing how time flys when you are living life. I know that right now I don't picture life as "the good ole days", but I do know thirty years down the road I'll look back and I will say they were. I now try to cherish every moment in my life now because of my dad. 

On the day of the funeral we had so many people show up. A lot of people that I didn't even know in my life. They would come up to me and tell me how my dad helped them through something in their life. They always told me he was a great man and he impacted their lives in certain ways. I never realized on how he has impacted so many people during his lifetime. I can only hope that I will impact as many people as he did in my lifetime. His funeral wasn't even really a sad atmosphere, it was rather joyous as we were celebrating his life. There was laughing and memories being shared throughout the day. That's how my dad would have wanted it.

Here is the video I made for my dad.

R.I.P. Ron Tschannen 1957-2009

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