Let me backtrack.

Elana, a friend of mine here at Cornell, had another friend head to Ithaca from her high school, Willie Jacobson. He attends Ithaca College, and although they weren't incredibly close, he and Elana shared many of the same friends back home. They know each other. Elana talked about him sometimes. I've met him on several occasions. They made an effort to meet about once a month, to catch up about things concerning their hometown; to catch up, in general.

Now he's missing.

Willie was last seen at a party, located a mile from his campus, where he had been drinking. He left the party and made his way back to his dorm on a footpath. He's been missing since April 27th.

It's been three days and I don't think he's alive.

It's scary to think that someone I just saw and had coffee with less than two weeks ago is missing. We were talking about our future plans, our summer plans, our plans for next semester. He may not have the chance to live out those plans. That prospect is terrifying. It could be any one of us at any time.

Like I said, I don't know Willie, but I know him, I know of him. I've exchanged words with him. I am aware of him. And this makes everything real. This makes the situation hit home. You watch the news, hear about a kid who's gone missing and think, That's sad, but don't miss a beat when you realize that The Office is playing in two minutes on a different station; you change the channel and move on with your life, it's what we all do. But this is different. This person is real for me. There is not going back to real life, because this is real life.

I'm not going to pretend like I'm directly affected by this, but I know someone who is, and that amplifies everything. I'm not saying that I'm not upset by the fact that he's gone, because I am, because, like I said, it's real, but I'm not close to him nor was he to me. That doesn't detract from the fact that I'm freaked out and worried, though.

This whole situation makes me feel incredibly existential. It makes me think about the temporality of human existence, that everything and everyone we know now will be gone one day. It's a terrifying notion, but a true one.

I hope he hasn't died, but right now the best-case scenario is that he's wounded somewhere and can't get back to a road.

Maybe I'm being pessimistic about this whole ordeal. I don't think it was a murder or a kidnapping, nor do I think it was suicide. I think that a very inebriated boy stupidly wandered off and landed himself in a whole lot of trouble.

In the end, I hope he's alright.