Grief

I've went through a string of emotions since I woke up Monday morning. When I first heard of the shootings at Virginia Tech, it didn't surprise me. I watched the news for about 10 minutes and was saddened. I tried to cope through joking with my brother. We understand each other and it's ok for us to make light of morbid things because we know the hurt going on inside of the other. We've had to experience it first hand.

That was the overwhelming emotion of the day. Watching the news again tonight, something hit me. It made things more personal. I'm very angry at the killer. Who the hell is he to take the lives of these people? He has no right to kill another person; no one does. I've also put myself in the position of the various people involved: the students in the classroom, on the campus, and their parents. I've tried to feel their pain so that they wouldn't have to. But one of the few things I've learned during my short life is that there is no limit on pain in the world. It doesn't do anyone any good for me to suffer.

More people than this die every day in Iraq. We must not lose sight of that. Their lives are just as valuable as anyone else's. But it's natural to relate easier to people who are just a few hours away and are experiencing college as I once had just a few short years ago. This tragedy makes me think of our world and all of the pain we cause one another. There are so many murders and there is so much sadness. We haven't yet figured out how to live with one another. We haven't yet learned to love each other. We will. Someday.