I wrote this one year ago—days after a brutal massacre at my school, Virginia Tech. The perpetrator, Seung-Hui Cho, killed thirty-two people and wounded many more before killing himself. This massacre was the deadliest school shooting in the history of the United States.
Monday April 16th, 2007, I witnessed history. A kind of history I hope I, nor anyone else, will witness again. Blacksburg, Virginia, my beloved college town, was a happy-go-lucky bubble where students and faculty trusted one another implicitly. No one locked their front doors, or even their car doors, for that matter. Weekends were filled with sights and sounds of revelry. Football games splashed the town with orange, maroon, and Hokie Pride.
Virginia Tech is a distinguished centre of learning for many disciplines and is a world renowned engineering school. Our football team is legendary. People across the country are glued to their TV screens when the Hokies kick-butt on the field. Our faculty has the highest accolades in their respective subjetcs and our graduate students work on ground breaking research.
Yet, the insanity of one man, will mar my school with the stigma of the largest massacre in American history. It is unfair. I hope that the world will one day remember Virginia Tech for what it really is.
The events of this week opened my eyes—to say the very least. I didn’t know how many friends, roommates, neighbors, and classmates face mental disorders. This day taught me to never shun those quiet “weird” people who dress differently and stay away from the crowds. I will make friends and help them become a part of our society. I learned that we never know what’s going to happen and who we might lose in the near future.
We obviously live in a fanatical world where too many lives are lost everyday to violence. We all need to cherish the time we have with our near and dear ones, appreciate what we have, and strive for better. Who knows what may happen tomorrow ...
