Jamey Rodemeyer needed help. At 14, he was grappling with adolescent demons that could torment grown men.
And when he was online, he wrote about it.
“I always say how bullied I am, but no one listens,” he wrote Sept. 9. “What do I have to do so people will listen to me?”
Just over one week later, Jamey was found dead outside his home of an apparent suicide.
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In the months prior, he routinely blogged about school bullying and thoughts of suicide in between upbeat posts about his pop star idol Lady Gaga and the ordinary types of teen rants typical for kids his age.
On Sept. 8, he wrote: “No one in my school cares about preventing suicide, while you’re the ones calling me [gay slur] and tearing me down.”
He put up a separate post that day letting everyone know it was National Suicide Prevention Week.
Then he posted the lyrics to a song by Hollywood Undead:
I just wanna say good bye, disappear with no one knowing
I don’t wanna live this lie, smiling to the world unknowing
I dont want you to try, you’ve done enough to keep me going
I’ll be fine, I’ll be fine, I’ll be fine for the very last time
On Saturday night, he posted a lyric from Lady Gaga’s song “The Queen” on his Facebook page: “Don’t forget me when I come crying to heaven’s door.”
Then around 1:30 a.m. Sunday, Jamey posted two final messages to his main public Tumblr blog. One said he really wanted to see his great-grandmother, who had recently died, and one offered thanks to Lady Gaga.
That was his last entry.
“He touched so many hearts, so many people,” said his mother, Tracy Rodemeyer, who met with some of his grief-stricken friends at Williamsville North on Monday. “I didn’t realize how many people he touched. He was the sweetest, kindest kid you’d ever know. He would give all his heart to you before he gave any to himself.”
Reprinted by permission.
Jamey’s message: ‘It Gets Better’
On May 4, 2011, Jamey Rodemeyer, posted this video on YouTube, in which he said that despite the bullying and messages of hate he’s been subjected to, he wanted others to know, that “It Gets Better.”
Jamey’s message was one of inspiration for others — as much as it was inspiration for himself.
Four months later, Jamey wrote on his Facebook page, “Don’t forget me when I come crying to heaven’s door.”
On Sept 18, Jamey took his own life.
