BY Jack Sullivan
Contributing Writer
“Everything is jazz, and I’m Stockton.”
For those who aren’t sports fans, John Stockton was an NBA point guard for the Utah Jazz from 1984 all the way to 2003. He was the conductor of the team, made everything flow within the team, like a jazz orchestra.
What a genius lyric for a song – simple, but it makes you really think. Those lyrics come from the song “That’s Life,” by Mac Miller, which came out on the music stream after Miller passed away from overdose. Miller touched so many lives through his music while he was alive, and what seems to be more when he is gone.
To think you don’t understand someone’s message and purpose in this world until they are gone. Well, imagine being 22 years old, just graduated college, and having the song “dynamic” of your life take a huge decrescendo.
Jarrod Marotto, Sacred Heart University class of 2019, passed away over the summer after a tree fell on his car from a lightning strike. Jarrod was not just a great student, son and overall a great person; he is my best friend. When you lose someone so close, so sudden, it is hard to move on from.
The community came together to mourn the loss of such an accomplished young man. Now, I do not mean accomplished in the sense of he did so many things to make people notice him; he did not catch a game-winning touchdown pass or make an absurd amount of money. As I said when I read a eulogy for him at his wake, success is defined by how many lives someone has touched in their life.
I write this not to make it known that I am sad, but to show that there is good in everything, even after death. When I first got my SCM Graduate Assistant position, Jarrod was the first person I called. Now I come to work everyday knowing that I will not be able to tell him physically about my days. But thinking about how happy he was for me over the phone that one day with news that brought so much happiness to my life is what pushes me to excel more day-to-day.
Now, why mention music? Jarrod’s love for Mac Miller is what made him love music and bind his life within songs.
For all those dealing with hard days, anxiety, trouble with school and any other fatiguing efforts to beat the bad days, have hope.
Find the things in life that make you happy. “Easier said than done” – that is what will come out of people’s mouths. Everyone has hardships in their lives, but strong soldiers finish the strong battles. For the ones you love and the ones that love you and that you have impacted somehow, finish the battle, finish the beautiful song that is life.
Mac Miller said it best: “That’s life, what are you going to do.” Life is full of unanswered questions: why do these things happen to me, or why do good things happen to good people? But hey, that’s life, and it’s the ability to push through and to be the point guard or the conductor of your own life and take charge that will make your life easier to live.
