I started this week feeling refreshed. I had just spent the week working at a book stall at the Spring Harvest event in Minehead. Minehead is this adorable English coastal town in Somerset. The work was long and intense, but it did make me realise if I fail at whatever career option I pursue, at least I can always be happy working at Borders!
Last week I got to work with amazing people, had substantial exposure to new and wonderful books, and got to see the coast and the ocean. I have in a mystical way always had this incredible bond with water; and after being sick for a month straight, I finally started to feel more like myself. Being able to walk along the beach was the perfect way to mend me and bring me back to normal. When I returned to the YMCA I was ready to start working again, and enjoy my last few months at the Y. I had no idea what was in store for me in the coming week, bringing up the past, colliding with the present and transforming the future. Life changes were about to occur again for some American university students forever.
Anyone reading this blog will know of the events that happened at Virginia Tech, the awful tragedy that will be carried in memories for a very long time. The numerous questions, of how could this happen, and why? And what could have been done to prevent it? As I write today I send not only sympathy to those who lost loved ones, but also express my empathy. As I write today, I want to share my deep condolences, but also unleash some of my own past painful memories and sort out the mixed up emotions floating around in my head.
The Past
Five years ago, I lost two friends, both on my college campus at Catawba College, one to a dorm fire and one to a needless shooting. These incidents happened three months apart, and by the end of that school year
Catawba College lost four students. A college that had a student population of 1,200 felt each loss deeply. In those days we were probably thinking very similar thoughts, to what Virginia Tech must currently be thinking. Being 19 years old at the time, and never having lost anyone close to me before, losing two friends was something I didn't know how to cope with. To complicate matters even further, I was a student leader (class president for the Sophomore Class), I felt like I had to some how balance my need to cry with putting on a strong face. I remember the first vigil we held for Andrew and looking out into a sea of faces, and doing everything I could to say a prayer without shedding tears. Why couldn't Andrew get out of that dorm? why did the fire start? Then three months later when gun fire opened at a campus party, a party which was supposed to have gone down in college history as the party of the year (which it did, but for very different reasons), D-Mo lost his life over an argument about an American football game. Who brings guns to a college party? Go figure.The Present
I was on the phone with my father, when he broke the news about VT to me. The reporter said a shooting had broken out on the campus of Virginia Tech. My father had been watching the news, and he exclaimed "you can hear the gun shots, what is going on down there?". I immediately turned on the news, to see what on earth was happening. As a chill set in my bones, all I could think of was how scary this must be for the students, faculty, and staff. The memories of 2001-2002 came flooding back to me. I had this strong need to reach out in some form to the Virginia Tech community. I also thought of the friends from Catawba, some I have kept in touch with while in the UK, some I definitely needed to reach out to. So that's what I did. I had a chat with Erin, and we both expressed how awful it was, and how we couldn't sit still thinking about our own past experience. And then an idea took shape, a way for Catawba to reach out to VT much like colleges did for us when we were going through a similar situation but in a much smaller scale. So past and present SGA (Student Government Association) members banned together to offer VT support.
I was on the phone with my father, when he broke the news about VT to me. The reporter said a shooting had broken out on the campus of Virginia Tech. My father had been watching the news, and he exclaimed "you can hear the gun shots, what is going on down there?". I immediately turned on the news, to see what on earth was happening. As a chill set in my bones, all I could think of was how scary this must be for the students, faculty, and staff. The memories of 2001-2002 came flooding back to me. I had this strong need to reach out in some form to the Virginia Tech community. I also thought of the friends from Catawba, some I have kept in touch with while in the UK, some I definitely needed to reach out to. So that's what I did. I had a chat with Erin, and we both expressed how awful it was, and how we couldn't sit still thinking about our own past experience. And then an idea took shape, a way for Catawba to reach out to VT much like colleges did for us when we were going through a similar situation but in a much smaller scale. So past and present SGA (Student Government Association) members banned together to offer VT support.The Future
Watching the news from the United Kingdom, was an interesting experience. While many Americans, were dealing with grief, and trying to understand how a safe place like a university campus can erupt with mass killings; the news here was slightly different. Yes they were reporting the loss of life and the unfortunate tragedy, but they were also looking at gun control issues in the USA. Comments were flying on the airwaves about the lack of gun control the United States has, and how they/we are known for gun violence. While these comments are true, I found them hard to hear, and also the wrong time to hear them. I am a strong supporter of gun control, and love the idea of living in a country such as the United Kingdom which has a ban on handguns. With that said, I am still from a country that has a Constitutional amendment which gives us the right to bear arms. So where does that leave us? As we move forward these are questions the United States is going to be forced to answer. However, I do feel it is unfair for some of these media outlets to lose the humanistic side to this tragedy, and point out yet another flaw the USA has. Now is a time for grieving and healing.
Watching the news from the United Kingdom, was an interesting experience. While many Americans, were dealing with grief, and trying to understand how a safe place like a university campus can erupt with mass killings; the news here was slightly different. Yes they were reporting the loss of life and the unfortunate tragedy, but they were also looking at gun control issues in the USA. Comments were flying on the airwaves about the lack of gun control the United States has, and how they/we are known for gun violence. While these comments are true, I found them hard to hear, and also the wrong time to hear them. I am a strong supporter of gun control, and love the idea of living in a country such as the United Kingdom which has a ban on handguns. With that said, I am still from a country that has a Constitutional amendment which gives us the right to bear arms. So where does that leave us? As we move forward these are questions the United States is going to be forced to answer. However, I do feel it is unfair for some of these media outlets to lose the humanistic side to this tragedy, and point out yet another flaw the USA has. Now is a time for grieving and healing.
The memories of the incidents in 2001-2002 at my college are never lost to me, but time has certainly helped to heal and for all that has helped me become a stronger and more compassionate individual. In the days and weeks to come, I’m certain that the bond throughout Virginia Tech’s community, as did the bond at our college in 2002, will strengthen and never be broken. As Virginia Tech begins to move forward and recover, remembering those lost, is a reminder of how precious life is and that we have yet another opportunity to devote each day to commemorating our friends and all who were lost by living our lives well. Cheers!
Today we are all Hokies!
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