Junior year of high school for me was filled with honors and AP classes, the pressure of college looming, and the ever-present need to get straight A’s. In every class I was pushed to excel and succeed and pass this test and that one so that when it came time to apply to colleges, I’d get into all of the best schools. The pressure was overwhelming at times, learning began to lose its luster, and I was on the verge of choking on all of my goals. Luckily, I had the best English teacher I’ve ever had in my life, Mr. Hall, who encouraged us to learn for the sake of learning, and not because we needed to pass the AP test in April.
Mr. Hall showed our class the film Dead Poets Society, and with it, taught us a valuable lesson. For those of you who haven’t seen it [spoiler alert], the story is about a group of young men at a boarding school who are all pressured in various ways to succeed. In comes Professor John Keating (Robin Williams), who taught these boys poetry and how to enjoy learning again, not so they can raise a point on their GPA, but so they can become better humans. This idea caught on to these boys and they all began to change their lives. One student in particular, Neil, decides to finally act in the school play like he’s always wanted to, against the wishes of his father. His father disapproves, and tells him that instead he’s going to military school to prepare for Harvard University and a career in medicine. That night, Neil commits suicide, and Keating is ultimately blamed for it– the belief being that if he hadn’t encouraged Neil to defy his father’s wishes, Neil would still be alive. In the end, the rest of the boys in the class know the truth– that Keating was encouraging them to follow their passions and their truth, and the small happiness Neil knew was that he was able to do just that, even once.
As a 16-year-old on the cusp of making hard life decisions, Dead Poets Society was the best film I could have watched. I decided then that I was going to follow my passion and my truth, because the alternative is becoming a person you don’t want to be. Since then, I’ve always associated Robin Williams with following my passion and creativity, because he’s shown through his career that passion and creativity can take a person so far into where they want to be.
I’ve always wanted to believe that Robin Williams was Professor Keating and I was like Neil, waiting to get my chance to act in the play. It never occurred to me that Robin Williams was Neil, seeing no hope at the end of the tunnel and everyone else around him is left wondering what they could have done to show him the light.
Robin Williams was more than just an entertainer for so many people– he was the man that made you laugh, made you cry happy and sad tears, inspired you, and made you realize just how happy you were to play a game where the animals didn’t come to life. So many happy memories in my life are because of Robin Williams, and it never occurred to me that there could be so much turmoil in his.
Robin Williams didn’t get the help that he needed in time. What we can learn from him is that any time is the right time to get help. Any time is the right time to help someone seek help.
Below are some resources you can refer to for help:
Suicide Prevention
Beautiful piece, so wise and true. It’s important to remember that geniuses and legends can also be very, very human. For more information on helpful resources, please see our Links page.