Every year, I use this day to reflect on the events of April 16th, 2007. I think about how I first came to hear about the shootings. How it felt to feel such sorrow and scariness at the same time. The incredible sense of unity I felt at the Memorial Service. The shift in the atmosphere in Blacksburg where I was finishing my last semester of graduate school. But on this 5th anniversary, I think of something different.
This year, I have spent some time thinking about how I can honor the lives of those 32 Hokies whose lives were taken too soon. Today, I am reminded that life is short. I think the best I can do is remember to enjoy each moment, to take all life has to offer and run with it. Through the good and the bad, I want to try to remember to not take a single day for granted. To enjoy my friends and family. To see the sunshine through the rain. To dream a little bigger and smile a little brighter. It's easy to forget the importance of life during the mundane routine of the day to day grind. But April 16th will always bring me back and give me perspective. Live for 32.
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