My Letter to Chester

Dear Chester,

It has been a few months since you have passed.  These have been a trying few months filled with a rollercoaster of emotions.  I feel like I’ve been mourning the loss of my best friend.  Even though we’ve never met, you’ve done more for me than 99.9% of the people that I HAVE met.  And I’m just one of the millions of people across the world feeling this way, which makes it even harder to accept.

Just a few nights ago, your Linkin Park bandmates, as well as so many other amazing individuals, put on a beautiful celebration of your life for the world to watch, sing along to, smile to, and cry to.  I know that you felt that energy from wherever it may be that your spirit is resting.

As that celebration came to an end, it prompted me to write a few words for you.

I want to thank you.

Thank you for being there for me in my darkest of moments.

Thank you for being the overpowering, unquestionably loud voice that I could crank up to full blast to drown out my own thoughts when I needed to.

Thank you for your angelic melodies that soothed my mind on the opposite side of the spectrum when I needed it.

Thank you for your unforgettable, unfiltered and incredibly raw lyrics that seemed to get me through every dark moment of my life.

Thank you for inspiring myself and so many others to do good here in this world.

Thank you for lighting the torch.

I want to say sorry.

It hurts so deeply to know that you fell victim to the illness that you have singlehandedly helped millions of people through.  You’ve picked us all up so many times.  If only we could have been able to repay the favor to you.

We can’t.

But what we can do is take the torch that you lit, and spread the light as far and as wide as we can.

I for one will fight to do just that every single waking day that I have here on Earth.

You were the spark that lit the #icare movement’s flame.  I am blessed to have an army of kindness warriors fighting by my side.  We will forever fight to make you proud.  We will forever fight to make a difference in this world.  We will forever fight to end the stigmas attached to mental health and depression.  We will forever fight for acceptance.  We will forever fight in the name of love.

When you put out “One More Light,” you asked, “Who cares if one more light goes out in the sky of a million stars?”

I do.

I care.

I miss you, Chester.  We all do.

Rest peacefully, my friend.

-Shawn

 

 

 

By | 2017-12-22T11:47:25+00:00 October 30th, 2017|

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4 Comments

  1. Monique McClain November 7, 2017 at 2:27 am - Reply

    Your article portrays Chester Bennington beautifully. The connection you made with him through music is powerful. It goes without saying he was influential to everyone who read or heard his music/lyrics. For me it was the first time I heard the song “Numb.”

    In memory is Chester Bennington…
    I will do my part to fight the stigmas attached to Mental Health and depression. Never to give up hope. Always to lend my love.

    • Shawn Flynn November 12, 2017 at 9:27 pm - Reply

      Thank you so much. As Chester said…”when life leaves us blind, love keeps us kind.”

      • Michelle Valenty January 12, 2018 at 10:33 pm - Reply

        WOW, I felt the warmth and live just in your words…so beautifully written Shawn.

        I’ve been a huge fan of Linkin Park since their first album, Hybrid Theory was released, in 1999 (I was 29, I am now 48) I could identify with their music…One Step Closer, Papercut, Numb, Crawling, Runaway, etc. Of them all, One Step Closer is where my head goes when I think of Linkin Park’s music. That song STILL speaks to me today as it did then, 20 years ago. That’s how much I identified with and still identify with the lyrics.

        Chester will be forever missed. I am going to end this just as you did…

        Who cares if one more light goes out in a sky of a million stars…

        Well, I do.

        • Shawn Flynn January 13, 2018 at 4:10 pm - Reply

          Thank you so much for the kind words. And I’m right there with you with those songs. A Place For My Head will always rank high up there with me. With #icare we can carry his legacy on and make a difference in this world!

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