10 Years

Although it may have fallen on Easter this year, and unfortunately I was not able to go because I was working, this Sunday, April 16th marked the 10 year anniversary of the Virginia Tech shootings. My body may have been at work, but my heart and soul were in Blacksburg.  In a way, it's appropriate that the 10th anniversary falls on Easter.  April 16th will forever be a day that an entire community and nation came together to pray, hope, and love each other. It will forever be a day that everyone on that campus and in the Hokie community will remember. So while you may have awoken celebrating the holiday with family and friends, I awoke thinking of my Hokie family and friends, how much love and support they have shown me throughout the years, and how much I yearned to be with them today.

Virginia Tech - A Decade Along
"A study found that 1 in 10 students lost someone they considered a close friend or relative, and 80 percent of students knew someone who was killed."

A friend of mine wrote the following and I simply don't have the words to put it any better:

"Ten years. A decade. That's what the calendar says, at least.

How far we all have come, and how far we all have traveled with April 16th on our hearts and in our minds. It's never far from anything we do.

We have demonstrated resiliency, compassion, and the incredible sense of community that is truly unique to Virginia Tech, the Burg, and this Hokie Nation.

We are still figuring out who and what we will become, and it is overwhelming to see how so many in this community have truly kicked ass in the past ten years.

Look at us now. Doctors. Educators. Inventors. Writers. Parents. Engineers. Counselors. Public figures.

We have continued to invent the future for ten years, we will continue to prevail, and may we continue to spread love in honor of those 32.

Thank you to everyone who has provided a shoulder to cry on, a classroom of reflection, love to share, and the occasional wine and dessert night when necessary over the past decade. You know who you are.

We will neVer forgeT, we will Live for 32, we will support all who were impacted, and may we all create and revel in joy and reflection today. " - Becca La Creta