This past semester, I had the pleasure of taking a Death and Dying class, which completely opened my eyes to the process of grieving. A large majority of the students in the class feared death, or the grieving process, due to their personal experiences. I, however, have never been afraid of this topic in particular. In fact, my favorite session was when the Coles County Coroner came to speak to the class.

Sure, it was interesting to learn how much a funeral costs and all of the options regarding arrangements, but I will always remember one particular topic that he mentioned: having respect for family members and loved ones who are grieving.

This crossed my mind last week as I saw multiple individuals sharing an article derived from our local newspaper. A tragic vehicle collision took place, and one young life was taken too soon. The article even had a couple of pictures showing the vehicles involved and emergency personnel on scene.

Shortly after, I noticed many of my friends sharing heartwarming pictures of the young woman who passed away the same day that the accident occurred. Although my heart was hurting for all involved, I could only think about how this woman's family deserves some privacy and respect. It's a great thing to share memories and to ask for prayer, but sharing personal information about the accident, or tagging someone who has just passed away, seems a bit selfish.

I know, selfish might be a little severe since people only meant well by sharing, but if you could have heard the Coles County Coroner explain how painful it is to inform family members about a death, only to discover that they already knew from social media, you might have a different viewpoint on keeping things more anonymous. Respect goes a long way when it comes to grieving.

Don't get me wrong, I am extremely proud of my community for rallying together during a time of great grief, but I think that when a death occurs, waiting a day or two to share personal information or photos from the scene of an accident shows respect for the deceased individuals family and loved ones.

As for our local newspaper, I don't think photos from the accident should have been posted at all. Informing community members of an accident and road block is one thing, but having photos of the emergency personnel removing individuals from a vehicle is not okay. No parent wants to scroll through Facebook and see their daughters car surrounded by emergency personnel.

What we can gain from this is a lesson to give family members and loved ones time to grieve. We can pray for healing and strength. As a community, we can grow stronger by supporting one another, and implement ways to prevent events like fatal collisions from happening again.