death

I used to believe…

When I was about 3 years old, and my parents took me to the cemetery to visit the family graves, it gave me a queer feeling when I was told that our loved ones were underground. I pictured them being trapped down there, and I had a sense that they were aware of my walking around on the ground above them. I thought that if I stepped on their tombstone they would be mad at me and psychically shout, "Hey, don't step on my stone!" Also, when my mom or dad pulled out the water can for the flowers from its hole in the ground, I dared not to look into the hole, thinking that the dead relative would be looking back up at me. I also thought that if you stuck your hand in the hole they would grab your hand from below.

I used to believe that if you went over a dead end, you would die.

I used to believe…

When I was 6, my grandma's dog passed. After he died she adopted another dog who was rescued from abusive owners, as her other dog was lonely, and the other dog seemed to know he was passing, so she was upset. But I didn't grasp the concept of death yet, so one day, when I was visiting my grandmother during spring break, I asked her where he went. My grandma replied that "Doug (I think that was his name, I don't remember) has gone swimming with your dad's dog you met when you were little, and we adopted Chile (the rescue dog's name), so Pepper (the name of the other dog) will still have someone to play with her and she won't be lonely." So when summer came and I visited my grandmother again, I wondered why Doug still hadn't came back from "going swimming" after 2-4 months, and I expected him to come back. It wasn't until 2012 when I was 9 and fully understood the concept of death, knowing that he wouldn't come back. A year later Pepper had gotten a stroke and was put down, and then I knew that she would "go swimming with Doug and Sally (my dad's dog's name)."

I used to believe…

When I would hear of someone injured "going into shock," I took it to mean that they were incredibly scared or surprised. Hearing about someone "going into shock and dying" would always leave me thinking these people really needed to calm down. Getting hurt may be scary, I thought, but there's no need to get so freaked out that you die!

I used to believe…

When I was young and folks or animals passed away at very old age my mother would say they "died of old age". I remember believing this was an actual cause of death, like there wasn't some disease or ailment caused by age that did it, but that an old thing literally just died with no traceable reason aside from the fact that they were old, as if there was no exact explanation and at a certain age all the organs just collectively shut down at once and the person just died. I believed this until I was 17 and can even remember the conversation that led to my realization that I was wrong.
"Great grandma passed on a month ago", I said.
"Oh no! What caused it?" The lady asked.
"Old age"
"Right but how did she die?"
"She died of old age"
My mother then pulled me aside to explain that just being old doesn't kill people, it's other real problems that come with it. I was so frustrated with my own cluelessness

I used to believe…

You know how parents tell their kids that their pets went to live on a nice farm when they have to be put down? Well, when my family and I moved into an apartment complex when I was seven, we sent our dog Muffy to live on my uncle's farm. I never understood why everyone looked so sad when I told them this until recently

I remember when I was seven, my aunt's dog got put down one day and I realised that she was going to sleep forever and she was dead. Because I knew that bodies were buried and their souls went to heaven, I thought your soul was your head and your body went with it from the grave, which was what I was confused about. "Where's Jazzy's body?" I asked.
"In the garage" replied my aunt. They were waiting to bury her in the garden
"But where's her head then?"

I used to believe…

when I was child I used to belive that the deads appears in the nigth when the lights turn off. I grew up thinking that was real.

I used to believe…

When I saw Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith, I became convinced it was possible to die by loosing the will to live. This was pretty vague though, so one day when I accidentally let go of a balloon I was holding, I thought I was going to loose the will to live.

I used to believe…

My cousin convinced me that if you had a headache for an hour or more that you would die.

I used to believe that just touching bug-killing poison would result in you dying in an hour. I once was at my village, and I accidentally touched a plant which was all sprinkled in said poison. I spent a lot of time worrying that I was going to die at any moment - I didn't know how much time an hour was!

I used to believe my parents would die if I didn't say "I love you" to them every time I left the house or went to bed. It was an odd belief and I held it until I was about twelve. I don't know if it I believed it was just that I would regret not having "I love you" be my last words to them or whether I actually believed that they would die if I didn't, but it was an odd view nonetheless.

I used to think they did an autopsy every time someone died regardless of how they actually died.

I used to believe…

When I was six my goldfish died and my dad threw it in the garbage and I thought he took it outside in the yard and then it would magically disappear and go to heaven

I used to believe…

Until i was twelve i thought when all people died they closed their eyes because that's what you see and funerals and on tv

I used to believe…

when I was a kid I used to believe that the sausage factory used children