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Until death do us part, two

In our last issue, members of our staff wrote about their visions of what death looked like to them: a crazy-colored light show or a big black hole. We asked readers to join in. Here’s what some of you delivered.

A ghostly tale

By Davina Tran // Contributing Writer

Death is something that every human being will encounter in life. No one will live forever, and everyone knows this. The thing that human beings don’t exactly know is what is behind the door called death.

I believe that people who die will stay on earth as spirits. I strongly believe in ghosts and other unexplainable things that happen to us.

Have you ever felt like someone is standing next to you but no one is really there? Have you ever felt the presence of a non-living thing? This is why I personally think ghosts and spirits exist. This is what made me think that the afterlife is nothing but ghosts and spirits wandering around on earth because they felt like they weren’t quite ready to leave.

This is what I think happens after death. What I want to believe is that there will be reincarnation. I would want to believe that there is something more to death -- that people who had done wrong things in their lives will be reborn and they can fix all their mistakes. Being reincarnated is letting yourself start over, start fresh, and keep fixing your mistakes until God decides that you are ready to go to heaven.

painting by Brendan Powers // Artists for Humanity

Breakfast with Jesus

By Khadijah Smalls // Contributing Writer

Some people fear death, and some people don’t, because they know everyone has to die one day.

I get my ideas from what I listen to and what I read in the bible. I believe that there is a heaven and a hell to go to after you die. If you do what you were put on this earth to do, you will go to heaven when your God calls for you. If you come and do the opposite from what you were put on this earth to do, you would end up in hell.

I would like to believe that after this life I will see heaven as one BIG cloud and everybody living in the sky. There would be this big golden gate to welcome people who have completed their mission, and done it correctly. I picture that every house in heaven is white and so is everything else. In heaven it will not be too cold or too hot. Then I picture this white castle that God and Jesus live in. They will come out for every breakfast and pray over the food, and we will eat and drink together. In my eyes, I also see hell as one big tunnel underground. I picture nothing but fire everywhere. I feel this is a place where you will never get a good sleep and everything you eat will be hot and on fire. I see it as a place I would not like to be.

I get these visions of the afterlife from what I hear and see on TV. Sometimes I see shows where they act like they’re in heaven, and they have on something white and everything around them is white. When they try to act like they’re in hell, they have something red on and horns on their head, with a pitchfork in their hands. After you die, I’d like to believe that you won’t feel pain anymore. I think your spirit will come from your body and you will go to a place where you will get judged on whether you will go to heaven or hell. Then, after that, your spirit will go to heaven or hell, and your life is done.

painting by Michael Guadarrama // Artists for Humanity

A free trip to heaven

By Harold Williams // Contributing Writer

Personally, I don’t want to believe that once you die there’s nothing. Something tells me that there might be more to it. You could be reincarnated after death as a newborn or maybe something that’s not even human. I want to believe that there’s something after death. There is something for those who didn’t do right by God. I want to believe that you will continue to be reborn until you stop making the same mistakes that you made before. And for those who do the right thing here on earth -- they get a free trip to heaven.

During my lifetime, I’ve always known about death, but I didn’t care much for it because I thought I would never die. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve started to think more about it. Some things that influenced me about death were the bible, movies, and my grandmother. Movies always say everything we do is a sin, we’re all going to hell, but they don’t mention forgiveness. My grandmother said God forgives for most things. She kept it real and told me how my life should go in the eyes of God. So now I have a clear understanding in my head about death.

painting by Helen Yung // Artists for Humanity