DRAYLEN MASON REMEMBERED AS BRIGHT, HAPPY
Draylen Mason’s vigil was like him — kind, heartfelt, full of music and even, at times, downright goofy.
About 600 people — a standing-room only crowd — attended the student-organized vigil at East Austin College Prep to honor the life of the high school senior who was one of the persons killed by package bombs in Austin earlier this month. At times with voices full of emotion, friends and teachers spoke about Mason, what he was passionate about and about all the reasons they were devastated to lose him.
Speakers — and even Mason himself, in old videos — painted a picture of a bright teenager who’d had a dazzling future ahead of him. Mason, who would have graduated from high school in the spring, had been accepted to the University of Texas Butler School of Music as well as the prestigious Oberlin Conservatory of Music in Ohio.
“His love of music was so inspiring,” said one of his orchestra instructors, Dana Wygmans, during the vigil. “He was naturally intuitive, and he worked incredibly hard to get where he was. He earned every single word of praise he was ever given, and he earned every opportunity that he had. He was such an incredible, incredible artist, and he was taken from us too early.”
Several videos of Mason’s performances were played at the vigil, as well as a video in which Mason spoke about helping others.
“It’s my duty to go and find people who need help . ... To say, ‘You want some help? I got you. Don’t worry.’ It may not always be fun,
but at the end of the day, I need to be able to say, ‘Hey, I did my thing as a Christian,’” Mason said in the video. “I believe in this thing, and I should do it to the full extent.”
The energy of the vigil changed halfway through, however, when a group of students walked to the front, donning sunglasses.
“In memory of the life he shared with his classmates, they will be performing an EAPrep Tiger Tribute to him, which is a combination of several of his favorite songs, entitled ‘Draylen’s Mix,’” announced Mason’s friend Sharrel Prince.
The group then launched into a dance accompanying a medley of R&B, hiphop and funk songs, including “Apache ( Jump On It)” by the Sugarhill Gang and “We Are Family” by Sister Sledge. The performance got a standing ovation from the crowd, some with tears still in their eyes from the previous eulogies.
It was a fitting tribute for a joyful person like Mason, several people said.
“He was just so damn happy all the time, and smiling and dancing and moving,” said his history teacher, Jacqueline Vidal. “Draylen’s just sunshine.”