The Life of Matt Morris.
When a life is well lived it becomes more newsworthy than in death; so was the life of Matt Morris.
Sometimes as journalists we are faced with the fact that what is newsworthy is not always the story the readers truly need to hear. One of the sad facts of our profession is that death is sometimes thought of as more important than the life that was lived. This is how I was left feeling after the death of Ohio University student and friend Matt Morris. I wanted to show people who would never get the pleasure of meeting Morris a glimpse into who he truly was.
On a brisk Thursday night a group of OU students gathered at a house, not for a party, but for a memorial of a friend that was lost that day. The sheer number of people Matt's life had effected could be seen the second one walked into the house and saw that it was standing room only. Although all the people who gathered were connected with Matt, many of whom had never met. The mourners represent a cross-section of the OU campus. Gay, strait, black, white international students- Matt was friends with them all. Through all the sadness, you could hear stories of a life lost. One person could even be heard saying “Matt was best friends with everyone,” while looking at the people gathered.
“I have no bad memories of Matt,” said sophomore Taylor See, “He was a ball of fun.”
On the surface Matt Morris looked like your typical 19 year-old college student. In his room, you could find him laying on his bed with his walls covered with a Pink Floyd poster and a poster of Kim Kardashian in a bikini. He loved music including Pink Floyd and the Beatles. While I can list all those surface things, they fail to tell the true story of Matt's life.
He was a extrovert at heart. With his dark brown hair,and rocker style, he was one of those people that could seem intimidating at first. His exuberant personality and big goofy smile, allowed him to become instant friends with everyone he met. While he didn't always say how he felt, his silence sometimes meant more because he was the kind of person that would listen to everyone without judging.
“He saw the world around him,” said See.
Like many college students, Matt liked to think about why the world works the way it does. One day as he sat watching a NASA video that depicted the universe, as well as how scientists think it got that way, he became excited because it helped him understand the world and form new opinions on life. His interest in learning about the world was one thing that made Matt a really good friend. He loved to use his views of the world to help others.
“Matt was the most generous guy I've ever met,” said Steven Perkins, an OU student and close friend of Morris.
Halloween weekend Matt decided to spread the Halloween cheer in his dorm. He bought a huge bag of candy that he emptied into a cowboy hat, and walked around Gamertsfelder Hall passing out candy to anyone he could find. Perkins said that Morris felt like a pedophile because everyone was weary to take candy from a stranger.
“He always found the perfect balance between joking around- and talking seriously with his friends- and trying to help them out,” said Perkins.
Racquetball was a serious sport to Matt. He played almost every day with his friends After a hard fought game, one of the guys would aim the ball at the others as a joke out of frustration. During one of the last games they played together, Matt hit the ball at Steve which hit him in the abdomen. The ball hit him so hard it left a huge red mark on Steven. To this day the mark hasn't gone away.
“I wish I would have had more time to get to know him because he had an awesome sense of humor,”said OU graduate student Mark Petrie.
Matt's sense of humor is the one thing most of his friends will remember. The last time I saw him was at Shively dinning hall. Mark and I were searching for tables to no avail when we saw Taylor and Matt already sitting at a table. They invited us to sit with them which we did. While sitting at the table in the busy dinning hall, Taylor needed to see what time it was and went to grab Matt's phone from his pocket. Matt, who saw this as a chance to play a joke, began making loud moaning noises. When everyone in Shively turned around to see what was going on, Matt got a huge smile on his face and was content. That is what I want to remember of Matt- his sense of humor.
“It makes you understand the impact you have,” said See.
Although Matt Morris was far from perfect, his life represents one that was well lived. I feel fortunate enough to have known him and wish we would have had more time together. Matt represents what happens when people allow themselves to live without caring what others think. One lesson we could all learn from Matt's life is to love without judgment.
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