Loss of Innocence

2 days ago the unthinkable happened. 20 beautiful innocents were taken from this world. 7 heroic adults lost their lives. A nation, a town, and entire families were changed forever. Yes, I am talking about the Newtown, CT elementary school massacre. Those are two things that should never be in the same sentence. Elementary school and massacre. Honestly, I don’t have much to say about the topic. Debating gun control and mental health care cannot change the events of that day. It can’t bring those 20 children home to their families. It won’t erase the terror and memories that the surviving children will have to learn to live with. It won’t erase the parents heartache from hearing that their children won’t be home for the holidays. It won’t bring back the heroic teachers and adults who died to save children. When such a tragedy occurs, there are often many questions. Why did this happen? What was the motive? What could have been done differently? What do we do next? Some things we may never know the answer to. But before we divide as a nation over politics, let’s throw details aside and come together as a nation to support Newtown and mourn the great losses. Let’s take time, this holiday season, to acknowledge how fortunate we are, and to help out those less fortunate. Because what we all need right now is a little hope. Hope that there is still good in the world. Hope for the present. Hope for the future. Hope for humanity. So I challenge you all to spread some holiday hope this season, and in light of recent events, and perform a random act of kindness. Buy someones coffee. Bake cookies for the mailman. Donate to a favorite charity. Find some way to give back and bring some light back into this holiday season. Do it for the Innocents.



May angels lead you in...

 

The end of one stage, the beginning of another...

I want to start this post with an apology. If I ramble or don’t make sense it is because I am exhausted and haven’t made sense all day (see previous post for proof). But I’m gonna go for it anyways:

Summer is coming to an end. In the next few weeks, one of my best friends will be moving back to school and I will be making the move to Charlotte. This summer has been weird. It’s strange moving back home after college. It was strange traveling so much. And it’s strange to be moving and starting new school. I wasn’t quite sure about how I felt about the end of summer until recently. But I have decided that I’m sad and slightly scared. It’s the end of a lot of things. After middle school, most of your friends stay in the same district and go to high school with you. After high school, things start to change. Most of your friends go off to different colleges but we all come home to the same place. Now that college is over, we are all moving on. Spreading out. Yes, there will always be Wilmington to come back to, but will this place stay “home” for all of us? The future is uncertain for a lot of us. I trust my friendships and I know that they’re strong, but it’s still scary to think that we are splitting up and moving on in different directions. The end of this summer signifies the end of childhood (yes, I’m aware that I’m 22 and ‘childhood’ probably ended a while ago, but for the sake of my point just go along with it). So am I excited to move and start nursing school? Yes, of course! But am I sad to be leaving my best friends? Am I anxious to see where we all end up? Yes. So here's to bittersweet endings and new beginnings.