MY THOUGHTS ON THE VIRGINIA SITUATION
Wednesday came with the tragic news that a Virginia reporter and cameraman were both shot and killed during a live interview. The two victims of the attack were 24-year old Alison Parker and 27-year old Adam Ward. Alison was a passionate reporter and Adam was a cameraman looking to find something outside of news: both had career goals. For me, as a young writer, it is always tragic to see another young person with professional goals be taken out so suddenly. Like many others it makes me fear for the years ahead of me: those formative 20s where you’re pulling strings to set up the rest of your career.
Just coming out of college, I have seen many of my friends entering the professional sector. And I have seen other people I went to school with becoming casualties of these sudden and terrible crimes. Two people from my college, one of whom was from my hometown and I had personally met at an orientation dinner, were recently murdered. It happened very sudden, to one while he was on the Metro, to another while he was getting out of a taxi. Both tragic deaths occurred within shortly over a month of each other.
I will admit it does scare me when I see young people being taken away like this. But I also realize what is important to remember about them. Up to the moment of their death these people were constantly working and striving towards their goals. They were people who demonstrated such a commitment to their craft that it can be boasted even after their death. That is why sad, but endearing news reports are filled with accomplishments and praise for the Alison Parkers and Adam Wards: because that is what these people were able to demonstrate in life.
While there is tragedy there is also inspiration. As a person struggling to find what they want to do in life (many of us are), trying to get a tangible wrap around the big P-U-R-P-O-S-E, I can look at these people and see role models: people who demonstrated an undying commitment to taking their natural talents and using them to achieve.
Up until her last moments Alison Parker was doing what she was passionate about: getting the news out and telling a story. As a writer I can identify with this. And if my “last moment” ever comes in a similar, tragic way, I want to know that I was living my passion until the end. I want to know that my passion is something I strove for, in spite of what ever obstacle stood in my way. I want to know that, in spite of my fear, I was always doing what I was called to do. In that way I was never truly in the wrong place at the wrong time. So in the midst of this tragedy there is fear, a fear of not knowing what may happen as soon as you leaving the door to face the challenges that await you, life and limb, but there is also inspiration. That inspiration comes, not in the form of a bullet, but a smile that always persisted on the faces of Alison, Adam, and many others who continue to do what I am working towards: telling a story.