From Newtown to Charleston
it has been years since I have accessed this account. going through it leads to embarrassment from my angsty years of high school, but I needed an outlet and I thought that tumblr would be the best place to turn. I used to write on it when I was an underclassman in high school, writing about things that seemed to be a big deal- but I had no idea what the world was going to throw at me. Now, as a rising junior in college, I have seen full well what the world is capable of.
I first saw the true evils of the world three years ago, during my senior year when I flipped on CNN and saw a small community just 20 minutes away from where I live. A school where most of the students at my dance studio attended, was rampaged by a man with nothing but hatred and ill will in his heart. 28 people were killed that day in December and my life, though not directly affected, was changed forever. I struggled so much with why something like this could happen. “This doesn’t happen here” is what kept ringing through my brain. I couldn’t process why my God, let alone any God, would let something so awful happen to such innocent souls. And while something like that will never be clearly justified; I began to see the good that came out of the tragedy. As the countless news crews evacuated and the flower shrines on every street corner began to wither, I got the privilege to watch my friends from Newtown rise above the atrocities they were faced with and choose love. The resiliency of that community resonated with me so deeply and has stuck with me to this day. The overpowering sense of love and strength was so incredibly beautiful, I felt sure I would never witness anything like it again.
After leaving Connecticut, I started my freshman year at the College of Charleston and I knew I had struck gold. I felt honored to spend the next four years of my life in what I considered the most beautiful city with the most beautiful people (inside and out). I explored the city of Charleston and made it my own- getting into every nook and cranny, learning how to navigate tourists on King Street, finding the best hole in the wall restaurants before Zagat did, selecting my favorite beach out of the three (Sullivan’s, duh), and knowing exactly what time at night you’d be able to get a swing at Waterfront Park. Not only did Charleston became my home away from home, but it threw open it’s doors and welcomed in a scared freshman girl from the suburbs.
That’s part of the magic of Charleston, its ability to make any stranger feel at home, even if those strangers happen to be droves of news crews that swarm the city. Five days ago this is exactly happened. I felt my heart drop when I turned on CNN once again and saw the words “Charleston, S.C” flash across the screen. This was all too familiar, this was all too soon. “This doesn’t happen here, this doesn’t happen here, this doesn’t happen here.” Yet again, a very, very sick person took the lives of innocent people he didn’t even know. From what I’ve learned in just two short years of living there, the city of Charleston operates like a family. Everyone knows everyone and if you’re hurting, I am hurting too. And though filled with grief, i have never felt more proud as I watched my family of Charleston react to this tragedy. Just like Newtown, I watched a city rally after being faced tragedy. I watched my city on the news- holding church services, holding hands, and most importantly: praying, praying, praying. I watched the families of the victims FORGIVE the murderer of their loved ones. I watched my sweet little city rally. Yet again, I watched a community come together, and it finally occurred to me. Not only should this not happen here; whether here be Newtown, or Charleston, or Colorado; this should not happen anywhere. What has happened to our culture where I, as someone who is only 20 years old, have watched communities that I love on the news TWICE in the past 5 years? Something has to give. We need to take a page out of Sandy Hook and Charleston’s book and choose love. We need to embrace people who are different than us with love, and we need to be love.
I said above that I have now seen what the world is capable of, and I don’t believe that to be hate. I believe that the world is capable of love. It is capable of loving so hard and so big that people can rally through tragedy, they can rally against obscene hatred, and they can even rally above unimaginable loss. I challenge everyone who reads this, if anyone even does, to try and spread a little more love in this world- if Charleston and Newtown can do it, I believe that anyone can.
