Three Years Later, The Healing Process Has Begun

Everybody has that "where we're you when" moment that will travel with them in their memory for the rest of their lives.  For America, that moment occurred on the mornings of September 11th, 2001 when two planes crashed into the Twin Towers in New York.  But for Hokie fans, that moment happened on April 16th, 2007.

It's hard for me to describe my feelings on that day in words because I faintly remember what happened that day.  I remember receiving a text message from my brother during my 3rd period music theory class saying that their was a shooting at Virginia Tech.  I shrugged it off thinking that it was a typical homicide, somebody slept with any man's girlfriend or something like that.  After lunch I remember walking to my marketing class on the opposite side of the school on E-hall and spending the entire class period glued to CNN.  After that class I don't actually remember a single thing that happened that day.  Nothing.  What I did when I got home, what I ate that night, what my parents and I talked about... I remember nothing.  I've tried to remember back to that night but for some reason it's blocked from my memory. 

So because of that I have a hard time describing how I felt that day.  However, three years later I can reflect back on the situation and how it has affected me in my life.  At the time of the shooting I was a junior in high school, just a few months away from summer and my senior year.  At that time I was failing my Chemistry class and was in limbo on how my future would unfold as far as life after high school went.  With a little help I managed to graduate and move on to a community college in the fall.

I knew I wanted to eventually end up at Virginia Tech.  Unlike some, the shootings weren't a factor in my decision to one day attend Virginia Tech in hopes of earning a four year Bachelors degree.  Of course, even after 2 years of community college I was just a class short of being able to attend Tech.  It's funny how life sometimes works out but I digress.

I cannot imagine what it would be like to lose a brother, a sister, a cousin, or even a friend to somebody who thought his problems were some how bigger than everybody elses.  That day brought everyone covered under the HokieNation umbrella closer together.  It amazes me at how well the students, the faculty, and even the local residents handled this tragedy.  No other school could have handled the media or the grief any better than the HokieNation did.

Even in the face of tragedy, the Hokies gathered inside a crowded Cassell Coliseum to listen as President Bush spoke to a grieving town.  After the President, English professor Niki Giovanni delivered her "We Are Virginia Tech" poem, and it was in that moment that I knew how special it was to be apart of this HokieNation.  After Nikki finished her poem, the crowd began chanting "Let's Go Hokies (clap clap clapclapclap)" and in that moment I knew everything was going to be ok.

I knew that the University that I love would not fall apart, the students would not leave allowing Blacksburg to turn into a ghost town.  Instead, the students and faculty bound together, leaning on one another to fight their way through the grieving process.

Three years later, no wounds have healed and certainly we have not forgotten about that day.  But the healing process has begun.  Soon April 16th will become a day of remembrance, no more candlelight vigils will be held and most people will go about their day without stopping to think about where they were on that fateful day.  It happens, time does heal all wounds but for those close enough to the school, we will remember this day for the rest of our lives.  And when April 16th rolls around on the calender, I will remember back to just where I was on this day and once again, Nikki Giovanni's speech will roll through my mind.  "We Will Prevail, We Will Prevail, We Are Virginia Tech"