It’s a rough week for people who made us happy on the internet. First we lost Humblebrag creator Harris Wittels, and now we learn that high-school student (and all-around cool kid) Draven Rodriguez has committed suicide. [photos: Vincent Giordano/Trinacria Photo]
Draven first made headlines when the above picture was rejected as his senior picture for the Schenectady High School annual. Fortunately, that wasn’t the development that would lead Draven to take his life. The whole thing worked out pretty well., Draven and his principal both had rescue pets–meaning Draven’s Main Coon (who, it turns out, is named Mr. Bigglesworth), and Principal Wilkerson’s own Vivian the Dog. The two resolved their differences, and the result was this rockin’ pic for the annual…
Yeah, that was all pretty cool. Now Draven’s page in the annual will have a message about the importance of adopting pets through shelters and rescue organizations.
Sadly, we didn’t know Draven well enough to even speculate about what was going on in his young life. We’re just very sorry to see it end. Damn. The cool die young.
