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For some the fish bowl is empty. In the event Fishy Friends, approximately 159 goldfish were given away to students by Campus Activities Board Wednesday, Oct. 28 in the Student Union Rotunda.
Eager students like freshman Kelly Harrold, Pre-Biology major, stood in line with a friend waiting for a fish. She mentioned how easy it is to kill a fish and how she managed to kill a plant known as a Hosta, which according to her is suppose to be quite hardy.
“Bamboo, it’s pretty much all that I can keep alive. You only have to water it once a week… I was three and I killed a goldfish, ever since then I’ve never went back,” said Harrold.
Others in line included sisters and students Flower and Ana Flowers. The Flowers sisters are from Honduras and studying under UNC Charlotte’s English Language Training Institute (ELTI). They heard about the event through the ELTI Announcer, a flyer that their professor hands out to their class weekly.
Brandon Boulding’s, senior and Construction Management major, reason for a fish was “Just something to put somewhere, something living.”
Excitement buzzed down the line of students waiting to claim their goldfish and decorate a bowl. Gravel of two varieties, neutral and neon colored, were available for the bottom of the bowls. Also, two seashells per bowl could adorn the fish’s home.
There were letter stickers and glass rainbow paint to decorate the outside of the bowls. Many were adorned with names, like Fishy and Emo.
Specifically, Tyesha White, sophomore and International Studies major, named her fish Miku after a Japanese Rock artist.
It was an intense, organized operation for CAB members. “It’s going well,” said Rhonda Andrews, Pre-Communication Studies major. Also, she speculated that they would be out of fish by 1:30 p.m. by looking at the extensive line that stretched into the Student Union’s dining area.
After patiently waiting, at around 12:40 p.m., I was in possession of a silver and greenish goldfish, which I had dubbed Sir G. 7.
Luckily, I had asked a friend for help, who doesn’t want to be named. A warm thank you goes out to him for helping me cover the event by saving my spot in line and then getting another fish for Kristen Litchfield, University Times Editor. He did profess with surprise, “I thought we’d be in and out, I didn’t think people would care too much about a fish.”
Once outside the Student Union there was many a passerby that commented or looked on in envy of my cute fishy. Even a server at Chick-fil-A was curious as to where she could have gotten a free fish.
Sir G. 7 even accompanied me to my last class of the day; he gained some knowledge in Research Methods. I wish he could have taken my notes.
Then we commuted home, where he would soon get to live in his homely bowl. His lifespan in that bowl lasted less than an hour.
Maybe he went into shock due to the change in water temperature or possibly his coloration was an indication of old age. I could wonder a lifetime as to why he passed so suddenly, but I’d like to believe that my love was felt by Sir G. 7 in the small time that I knew him.
The comrades of goldfish Sir G. 7 mourn his departure from this world, TOD 5:31 p.m. He was buried in the backyard under a purple Crate Myrtle tree next to a cow pasture with the belongings he owned in this lifetime: gravel and a seashell, the second shell was laid on top as a grave marker.
I updated my Facebook status with the loss of Sir G. 7, and the outpouring of kind comments and condolences were numerous from friends.
Surprisingly, there is a mortality trend. White’s fish passed about five hours after getting him too.
As for Harrold’s albino fish, she had named him MJ after the “late-great Jackson.” “[MJ] died within 10 hours of getting him. I cleaned his water and fed him and the poor thing died.
[I] guess he was just following in the pop star’s footsteps. We gave him a proper burial at the toilet, but we prayed for him first. He needed to go to fishy heaven,” said Harrold.
On a better fish bowl front, Harrold’s friend’s fish is still alive. “Lauryn’s fish is… slightly hyper active. It seems as if it never stops swimming. Ever. Lauryn loves her new fish and enjoys having him in her room,” Harrold said.
Boulding’s fish is still alive too. “Life is good, it just sits on my desk and blows bubbles,” he said. Yet, his girlfriend’s goldfish died Thursday morning.
It might be true that most goldfish do not have a long lifespan, but many can relate to the tenderness us as humans feel towards our pets like goldfish. Either from childhood or now in college, the love and loss is a worthwhile life experience.
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