I have to say, my heart goes out. My heart goes out to Chase, an amazing soul gone to soon, his family who won’t get to hug him, his friends who wont get to see that smile again and more than anything those who never got the chance to meet Chase.
Chase and I became friends our freshman year at Ohio State, what a crew we had in Smith Steeb, a bunch of lost souls looking for fun and friendship in the vastness Ohio State can be. There was something about it when you were around Chase, you could feel it in the air, whether it was a spike of joy in the air, love or just chaotic energy. You may not be able to put a word on it but it was there.
Chase had a way to put a smile on your face no matter what. Chase always had a six pack, how he did it, I do not know. But no matter what shape my body was in he would always greet me with a smile and a hug tell me how “I looked like a steak and I had to have been in the gym recently”.
After freshman and sophomore year me and Chase had started to find different paths at Ohio State and saw less and less of each other. This never changed that spark in the air I would feel when I was lucky enough to see him. But is a large reason I write this letter.
I have never dealt with losing someone this way before, I do not know how to process it and I can say with 100% certainty that my body is still in shock at this moment. One thing I do have experience with is losing someone in a traumatic circumstance and how the body reacts to that.
Do not fight how you feel it is okay. Whether you cried all day or felt like looking for tears was like looking for an ocean in the desert. Everyone reacts differently and that is okay. Another thing is that everyone wants to feel bad for everyone else. Outsiders feel bad for acquaintances, acquaintances feel bad for friends, friends feel bad for best friends and girlfriends while everyone feels bad for the family and for Chase.
All I want to say is it is okay to feel bad for yourself. Sadly that feeling in the air when Chase was around is gone, a piece is missing from Mahwah NJ, from Columbus OH and from the world at large.
I don’t have anything else to say at this time, except that I would love for more people to try to emulate Chase, emulate his kindness, his smile, his ability to be there for others. You do not cry remembering the sad things that happened but all of the good ones that did.
Please donate to this fundraiser set up by Austin Loconti for the Meola family and although I cannot say that I will be able to help anyone I want people to know that I am there for them when I can be.
My phone number is 440-668-1229, feel free at anytime to reach out at anytime. I cannot promise it will help but I can promise I will not judge you for how you are feeling.
https://gf.me/u/y4iisq ( Donation page)
Best,
Nick
Shed Some Light 