By: Joshua Ceballos/Investigative Editor
Joshua Richardson wanted to make people smile, even when he found it hard to do so himself.
Though he struggled hard with mental illness privately, his friends described him like a candle in the dark: gentle, warm, a source of light. He wanted others to look on the bright side at all times.
The 19-year-old freshman died on Thursday, Oct. 17. He was found by police in his room at Lakeview Hall North after his family called to say they hadn’t heard from him in several days.
Jim Richardson, Joshua’s father, said Joshua struggled with bipolar disorder, anxiety and intrusive thoughts all behind the scenes. Even though he was having a tough time inside, his dad said he made sure everyone else was happy before he thought about himself.
“He would say anything and it would sound silly and he’d make you want to smile,” said Victor Gonzalez-Cortez, a freshman marketing major and friend of Joshua’s.
At his memorial service on Friday, Oct. 25, his father said that everyone remembered Joshua’s infectious grin.
“Everyone said the same thing about his smile. All of his cousins and family members considered him their best friend,” said Jim Richardson.
Adria Pou, a freshman biology major, said that she was one of Joshua’s closest friends at FIU. Joshua was from Ohio and had only been here for two months, but Pou said that it wasn’t hard to get close to him.
“We hung out almost every day. We’d get dinner and study all the time,” said Pou. “I spent more time at Lakeview than I did in my own dorm.”
Joshua would talk to her about his interest in spirituality and the outdoors. He was an avid surfer, and his dad said that he wanted to come to Miami for years to be near the ocean. Pou and Joshua would listen to songs like “Temper Temper” by Lime Cordiale and watch his favorite show: “Euphoria.” Sometimes he would ask to read auras.
Photo courtesy of Jim Richardson
“He was really spiritual, always talking about vibes and chakras,” said Pou. “He swore he could read my aura, he learned from a psychic in Ohio.”
Gonzalez-Cortez met Joshua through Pou and knew him for little more than a month, but he said he sometimes felt closer to Joshua than anyone else he knew.
“We went on a walk around campus once and talked for two hours. He opened up to me and we didn’t realize time was passing by,” said Gonzalez-Cortez. “We talked about spirituality, monks and life-changing experiences… I don’t think I could have had that same walk with my best friend from high school.”
Gonzalez-Cortez said Joshua read his aura once.
“He told me it was yellow-green because I liked the outdoors like him… that’s going to stick with me,” Gonzalez-Cortez said.
Joshua’s friends didn’t know that he passed until later in the day on Friday, Oct. 18. The University sent an email that morning saying a student had died in Lakeview, and when Joshua wouldn’t pick up the phone, they realized who it was.
Photo courtesy of Adria Pou
“It was weird… like the air was different. When I found out I was walking around the housing quad. It was like everything was carrying on as normal but everything was turned upside down around me,” said Pou.
The next few days weren’t easy, said Pou and Gonzalez-Cortez.
“I cried for several days. We were supposed to hang out that Friday and it hit me that we wouldn’t be able to hang out again,” said Gonzalez-Cortez.
They both said that after a few days they realized Joshua would have wanted them to keep smiling.
“This is not what he would want, he would call me stupid,” said Pou chuckling.
Jim Richardson remembers his son as someone who always wanted to help others. Even while he was in therapy at various times in his life, he was worrying about other people’s recovery over his own. Joshua’s friends said even now he’s pushing them to improve and make him proud.
“He always put others above himself and would go out of his way to make someone comfortable. He was deeply loved by anyone that met him,” wrote Jim Richardson in a message.
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