living boundlessly
"As the weeks wear on since Graham disappeared and her parents continue to hold out diminishing hope for her safe return, investigators still can't locate the athletic, upbeat and straight-A student, Charlottesville Police Chief Timothy Longo said at a news conference on Sept. 25."
As I read these words from a poorly crafted article in the "news" section of the (online) tabloid magazine People, I cannot help but think that Hannah Graham would have been disappointed by the choice of the three adjectives used to describe her. Athletic? Upbeat? The first, a superficial, vaguely positive affirmation of her appearance; and the latter, a synonym likely chosen from a child's thesaurus for "happy". Is this how Hannah would want to be remembered?
Though I certainly cannot claim to know Hannah, I have followed her case closely. Through this research, I have tried to understand her as a person: another human soul, kindred to mine. I was able to get to know a bit more about her through one of my friends here at school, who had gone to middle and high school with Hannah. I also (sadly was able to?) located a link to her Twitter from one of the numerous articles concerning her disappearance, and I spent some time reading through these thoughts she had shared with the public.
She strikes me as witty and so intelligent. Clever. Fiercely proud of her motherland England, a fellow Francophile, and a incredible Hoo. Athletic, yes, but also a lover of wine with her tv shows, a world-traveler, and an altruistic being who spent her spring break serving others. Upbeat, surely, but also equally subject to the less pleasant trivialities of being human (remembering only one earring), and to the tiny successes (like scoring free guac). An avid learner who does the right thing, but also a youth who enjoys partying with friends just as much as the next college student. Passionate, a tactful spit-fire who loves ardently.
I tried not to use any conjugated verbs in the above paragraph, as sadly no one on this earth knows which tense to use for Hannah Graham, save perhaps one detained suspect. The savage injustice with which this resonates within me cannot be tempered. It is too abysmal to think that perhaps a mind so conscientious and enamored with learning as hers -- a soul so desirous of sheer existence -- could be darkened in an instant. Too dreadful to think how such a force of life could be reduced to three such adjectives. How could something so senseless occur?
What is perhaps most sickening is that this could happen to anyone. In an instant, all that you know could cease to exist due to the moral depravity of another human being. I cannot tell you the number of times I have walked home alone drunk or heard of another girl (or anyone) doing the same. Moments before, something that was so innocent and commonplace has gone horribly awry. No warning. No second chances.
Wherever Hannah may be, she undoubtedly lives beyond the confines of three such transparent adjectives. I surely hope and know that she will continue to inspire others to do the same.
