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This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at UCF chapter.

In memoriam:

Zayn isn’t dead but ot5 is. 

March 25, 2015 is a day that haunts every fan of One Direction. The day Zayn left the band shocked us all — not a single person was expecting it. I remember every detail explicitly, as I’m sure most fans do as well. I had just left my fifth-period class with my best friend at the time. We went to put our textbooks away at her locker when I decided to check my phone. I saw a tweet from the One Direction band account with a link to the Facebook post that ruined everything. Zayn had left the band. My friend and I were shocked, we didn’t know what to say or how to react. We were just silent as we parted ways to go to our last class of the day. My last class was essentially a free period because half of our class went to a HOSA competition. Once I was in that class, I called my friend who went to the competition to see if she heard the news, she hadn’t. I went into the closet in the classroom as my friend and I started to freak out before my phone died. She called our other friend’s phone and I just sat inside the closet talking to her. The rest of the class outside were trying to figure out what was wrong, but no one took it seriously when I told them that Zayn left One Direction. They didn’t think of it as a big deal and didn’t really care. But that day changed everything and changed the lives of every fan of One Direction. 

Ashley Rickman

“I was getting ready to go to a high school track meet (one of my first, I think) and I literally cried the entire way there on the bus and couldn’t focus on competing. When someone first told me I legitimately thought it was a joke and didn’t believe them until I looked it up for myself. And then a bunch of the boys at my high school took pictures of the girls crying in the hallways, put them on Twitter and the pictures ended up being part of a Buzzfeed article — it was wild.”

Nicole Wills

“As a Zayn girl, I shamelessly cried, and I was definitely upset for a long time. But I was also happy (and still am) to see him thrive in his solo career! I think he made the best decision for himself.”

Ashley Arenal 

“I was at my friend’s house and she didn’t like One Direction, so I locked myself in her bathroom and FaceTimed my 1D B.F.F and we cried…ouch.”

Yaymelí Meléndez 

“I cried and had to go to school the day after and it was like he*l on earth. All of my friends who knew I loved 1D were messaging me — taunting me about it. It was definitely shocking.” 

Lauren Reed 

“I was at the mall and started sobbing in the food court — like full-on sobbing — it’s fine, I’m fine.”

Mollie Guerrero

“My mouth dropped for like five minutes and I immediately group-called all the Zayn girls I knew, and we cried together on a conference call.”

Eda Kustal 

“Oh my gosh, I was walking my neighbor’s dog (a corgi named Duncan) and I literally turned my a*s around and went back to her empty house so I could cry in her kitchen. I kept telling myself he would come back because he wouldn’t just leave the fans and the rest of the tour dates hanging but alas…he did not return.”

Hannah Mason

“LOL, I cried and legitimately stared at my Zayn poster on the wall.”

Ashley Kramer

“My family was at Epcot and my older sister and I were eating pastries from the French bakery. She was on Twitter and gasped so loud and told me and I screamed.”

Umaima Haseeb

“I was shocked. I sat in my bed all day and literally didn’t move.” 

Chelsea Velez

“I remember thinking it was a joke. I thought when my friends started messaging me they were trying to play a prank or something. That was definitely not the case, I’m not sure I cried but I was in a state of shock for a while after.”   

Krysten Sliwinski

“I cried a lot on my couch because we were on spring break and I adopted my cat whose middle name is Zayn lol.”

Kiara Alamzar

“14-year-old me sent an email to my district asking if they could cancel school…they said no….”

Stephanie Shekarchi

“I was super shocked honestly and a little sad but, I was happy for him at the same time and I’m happy for all of them! I’m not going to lie though; I still hope for them to get back together every single day.”

I have a lot of issues and grievances with Zayn leaving One Direction. My main one is that we were told in a Facebook post written by their management. I wish Zayn was the one who announced it in a video or something more personal and I wish Zayn stayed for the rest of the tour at least. I wish a lot of things but I understand why he did it. I understand that Zayn was not feeling heard or appreciated in the band and his mental health was suffering. I understand that he needed to leave for his own wellbeing, and I am happy for him and always wished him the best. I hate knowing that Liam was pretty much the only one who talked to Zayn after he left (#ZiamIsSuperior). I just wish they all left things on better terms. Despite losing a band member, One Direction pulled through and gave us their best album yet, before they also parted ways. I obviously wish them all the best on their own solo careers — each member has made amazing music on their own! I still have hope that one day One Direction will get back together. I know it’s not likely that Zayn will rejoin them, but one can only hope! Even if he doesn’t, I hope they can at least reconcile their differences and be friends again.


Ramisa Chowdhury currently a UCF graduate with a BA in English Lit and a BA in Clinical Psych. She loves to read, write, and watch Netflix. She is also a major geek when it comes to things like Harry Potter, Marvel, Star Wars, etc.
UCF Contributor