21st July, 2017

Chester Bennington - Your legacy will be remembered for the centuries to come

After a hectic day at work, I was fast asleep by 11 PM. At around 12:00 AM I got up with a lot of beeps in my Whatsapp. With one eye open, I peeked in the phone, only to see what I could never imagine!

Chester Bennington in no more! My heart skipped a beat, and for a moment I thought it was a lucid dream. But then I realised it’s true. Chester had been my inspiration ever since I started listening to English songs.

Some of my cousins and friends did not like Linkin Park songs apparently because they thought there are no lyrics and only screaming and shouting. But that’s the difference between listening and hearing. If you follow the lyrics you could feel the pain depicted by his lyrics.

I could feel the rebellion that Chester Bennington had inside his heart; his lyrics spoke more of it. Be it ‘Crawling’, ‘Faint’ or ‘numb’ all the woes, rants, the pain of rejection could be felt. I always felt that the lyrics of the songs are a cry of anguish! So realistic, with no room for superficial things.

But again the tempo of the music made me feel like the world is not a fair place and always be ready with a middle finger salute to those who make you feel dejected, low and as a loser. While growing up, every time I was bullied, I remembered that Chester had been through it. While growing up he had no friends and was bullied for his appearance. The same could be seen in the video of the song Numb.

Being bullied for being skinny and then sexually abused by a friend to fighting with rejections, drug abuse and alcoholism, Chester had been through all the bad times. His parents separated when he was 11. This incident shook him from within and he started doing all sorts of synthetic drugs, but eventually took the help of a rehab to cope up with substance abuse.

He was exposed to molestation as a child of 7 and this continued until he was 13 years old. It might shock you to know that it was his friend who abused him. He was a real fighter, who does not give in to the challenges thrown by life. While performing at a concert in Australia he broke his wrist but continued performing.

His songs were not mere songs, for me, they are like the lesson for life, get up and fight back. His last song Battle Symphony has given me the strength to fuse my armour back together at times of crisis. I always believed he was a real warrior a hustler and an inspiration. Chester, we wish you a happy afterlife. You are not dead, your voice will echo in my ears and will continue to provide the motivation and strength for the generations to come!!



 

by Ragini Arora