I’m not oblivious to what happened in Connecticut. I just honestly didn’t know what to say, so I didn’t write about it until now (that and the fact that most of these posts were written ages ago and scheduled, so I haven’t actually written anything in a while). It’s chilling to think about, and I can’t begin to imagine the pain and the grief that the families and the entire town must be feeling right now. Our time here is transient, and you never know what tomorrow might bring, so treasure the people you love and care about, and tell them how you feel. Reach out to the people around you.
Sending prayers and my warmest thoughts to all the people affected by the shooting. Our school held a candlelight vigil on Tuesday evening to give everyone a chance to mourn and remember those who were lost. I think we collectively managed to raise almost $1000 to send over to Newtown.
I think that’s one of the things I love most about this town. This is the smallest town I’ve ever lived in, and I’ve never felt such a sense of community anywhere else. People are super friendly and go out of their way to be kind to each other, so much so that when I first came here, I was pretty caught off guard. People in California and New Jersey weren’t ever really directly unpleasant by any means, but I don’t know that they, as a whole (I say this because individuals like Bel, Dr. Shaffrath and Dr. Gross exist), could ever measure up to the caliber of kindness that I experience here on a daily basis. It’s what I fell in love with when I first came here to interview, and though there have been trying times since I started school here about 4 months and a week ago (aka neuro), it’s the people I surround myself with that have really been helping me to keep on trucking.
I’m glad that the community and our school can come together in times like this. We went through a pretty rough patch last block and for a brief period, and I was a little upset with our class as a whole for being so unprofessional (my euphemism for whiny and immature). The second year class is still somewhat worried about the leadership (or perhaps lack thereof) next year, and one of them told me I’m actually one of the most involved first years she knows of. This, to me, is pretty frightening because I feel like I’ve been less and less involved ever since I stopped coming to class. Granted, I think I’m active in more clubs/activities and do more volunteer work/am more involved with the community (on account of the groups I’m a part of) than the average first year, but I’m not currently in a leadership position of any sort, nor am I sure that I really want to be. I’m glad that I got to contribute in some way by singing at the vigil while still upholding my promise to be at the Greenbrier Manor to sing for the senior citizens there, but if I really am one of the most involved first years, we are going to have a serious problem next year. I’d like to think things will eventually turn around though.
