Rest In Peace George Matchett
You always hear tragic stories of young people dying in freak accidents and you think "That'll never happen to me, or anyone I know." Well that's what I thought until yesterday when one of my dear Australian friends, George, drowned at Fairy Meadow Beach in Fairy Meadow, Australia. This news came to my friends and I at approximately 1:00 p.m.; George had died earlier that day around 9:00 a.m. There was a meeting at Campus East yesterday at 1:30 p.m. to let everyone know that one of its favorite students had passed away earlier that day. Last night, at 7:30 p.m., around 350 Campus East students gathered on the beach to commemorate George's life. We all lit candles and stared with dazed looks at the ocean, thinking how could such an awful thing happen to such a wonderful person. Now to all reading this, you may be sharing in my grief that a young person died, because young people aren't supposed to die. But George was much more than your run-of-mill college student, George was so much more. He was unlike anyone I've ever met before. To fully understand my sorrow, you need to know a little bit more about George.
George was a Residential Advisor at Campus East, which meant he was always around campus during Orientation Week and the first few weeks of campus. I met George my second night living in Campus East. Not only did everyone know George because he was an RA, but he also had the best room location in all of campus. He room faced the quad, which is surrounded by four of the main buildings. He didn't have a window looking out on to the quad, rather a sliding glass door, accompanied by a nice cement patio. My friends were talking to George, standing in the door way, as George was sitting at his desk on his computer. Right from the start, I could tell he was one of the nicest blokes I'd ever met. Being a resident in Campus East last year, George knew many Colgate students, many of whom I'm also friends with. In the following five weeks after our first encounter, George never ceased to amaze me with how caring, generous, and welcoming he was. George LITERALLY knew everyone on campus, well maybe two-thirds, by name. He was able to remember so many people's name because he gave everyone a nick name, depending on what their first name was. My nickname was "Erin Brokovich," my friend Megan had the nickname "Megan Fox," and so forth. Every time I walked by George's room, "Hey Erin Brokovich! How's it going?" "I'm great George, how are you?" "I'm good Erin, all the more better for seeing you." Our nickname for George was "Curious George." Because, as George said, "I'm just so curious about everything." George's patio was the hang out place for everyone. No matter if you knew George or not, you were always welcome to have a chat with George and his friends (which was seemingly everyone) on his patio. George and I talked alot about his most recent obsessions... meditation and tea. George loved to meditate. Last year, George said he was the wild guy on campus, always partying, always having a good time. This year, in his words, he wanted "to just chill out more." In an attempt to become more chill, or "so zen," George meditated in a class on Mondays and on the beach at the morning various times during the week. Immediately after, he loved to have a swim, come back to his room, drink some tea (lemon and ginger was his favorite), and make ham and cheese toasties. George was always offering things to people, like his tea, food, and beer. All the time, George would invite me to have tea with him on his patio. Actually, he invited everyone to drink tea with him on his patio. A lover of Australian rugby and soccer, George could also be caught in the TV room on campus watching sport. He was also the type of guy who would come home from uni at around 4:00 p.m. but get caught up talking to people so much he wouldn't make it to dinner until 8:00 p.m. Such a sincere person, really interested in talking to everyone around him.
In the five weeks I knew George, he taught me so much, not just about Australia, but about life in general. One of George's first pieces of advice to me was "Always be spontaneous Erin Brokovich. You only live once." George lived by that rule, and I will try my best to fulfill that advice while in Australia and when back in the U.S. George also taught me to spend time with the people you care about. If you're having a really good chat with someone, don't worry about going to class, you can get the notes from someone else. George thrived off other people, gaining energy from the intimate bonds he formed with others. One of my biggest regrets from the past five weeks was not meeting George on the beach the day before he died. A few nights prior, we had promised to meet on the beach so we could watch the sun rise. When I woke I saw he had texted me; he needed to push back the time that we met on the beach because he had a meeting that morning. Overly consumed with work, I told him I wouldn't be able to make it any more because I had to go to uni. I texted him "Can we reschedule for another time?" If only I had taken the time to just talk with someone I cared about, someone I wanted to learn more about. You hear in songs and movies, "You know, you or I could die tomorrow. So don't wait too long." Well I should have followed that advice and gone and spent time on the beach watching the sun rise with George. Because now there's no rescheduling. Never wait to spend time with others, because there may not be another time. George also taught me there's no one that's not worth meeting. Everyone has a story to share. Lastly, George taught me to just be chill. Don't sweat the small stuff, don't take life too seriously.
So now you might understand why the whole of Campus East is so upset over George's death. It still doesn't seem real. I walked by his porch earlier today and there was no one sitting there. It was dark and there were several chairs empty, empty bottles, and a pair of George's flip flops sitting idly. I wanted people to be there, to fulfill George's wishes of getting lots of people together to just have fun. I would give anything to go back and just have one more chat with George. George gave everything he had to others, and now I need to do the same. My friend and I were talking about the reasons why God would have taken such a young life away, a life with so much promise in its future. And my friend said to me, "Every one was sent to this Earth with a purpose. And George fulfilled his purpose. He inspired other people. And now he's in a better place, looking over all of us."
There's no more George sitting on his patio, inviting me to drink tea. There's no more George inviting me to come meditate with him because he "reckons its the most awesome thing he's ever done." There's no more George to tell me everything's going to be alright, that life works itself out.
But there was a George to teach me about the important things in life: caring for and spending time with those you love and living life to the fullest. Thank you, George Matchett, for being a part of my life.
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