Lee Thompson Young, your light will always shine bright

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The news of the death of actor Lee Thompson Young hit hard for me. Lee was only a year and some months older than me.

I didn’t know him personally but I grew up watching him on the television screen during his Disney days. He was the star of the show The Famous Jett Jackson : a show that I watched as a pre-teen.

Lee Thompson Young a Columbia, South Carolina native, raised by a single mother, knew by the age of 10 he wanted to be an actor.

I followed Lee Thompson Young after his days on Disney. His career transcended as he grew. Friday Night Lights, These Hills Have Eyes, Akeelah and The Bee, Scrubs, and before his untimely death Rizzoli & Isles. Thompson played the young detective Barry Frost on the TNT drama series. Every part he played was memorable. Not to mention, you could not forget those beautiful brown eyes.

On August 19, Lee failed to show up to work to film an episode of Rizzoli & Isles. Police were called to perform a well-being check at his Los Angeles apartment. He was found dead from an apparent suicide. He was only 29 years old.

I always remember the phrase my father would say when we’d hear about unfortunate events, “you never know what people are going through”.

The death of Lee Thompson Young reminded me ever so much, sometimes you just never know. We think celebrities have it all, but often times we fail to remember they are just like us regular folks. Human.

It is being reported Young did not leave a suicide note. Sources close to him says he suffered from depression before his apparent suicide.

Suicide is serious and no laughing matter. Like many others, I call depression the silent killer. Because on the outside you would have thought he had the world in front him, but the inside can be a totally different matter.

Often times, we get so caught up in life that we begin to take things for granted. I’ve come to realize a simple I love you goes a long way. To our friends, and family letting them know we care and love them. Life is not all about the materialistic things. Because when you’re dead and gone, you can’t take those things with you.  Most importantly, just because someone “has it all”, doesn’t mean they’re happy.

I do not know exactly what Lee was going through in his life, but the vicious disease of depression is all too familiar. Being that he was around my age, African American, is probably the reason why it hit hard for me. The reality for me is all too real.  1 in 10 Americans suffer from depression at one point or another, African Americans being at the height of the statistics. Women even higher.

Young’s apparent suicide and other victims of suicide should make us all wake up and smell the coffee.I’m not sure why he decided to take his life, but I hope Lee has found some type of peace and serenity. It is nothing worse than fighting yourself.

Lee, no matter what, whatever the circumstances, you are loved and your light will always shine bright.

Unheard Voices extends its condolences to Lee’s family and friends.

If you or someone you know needs help, please call the National Suicide Prevention Line at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).