A Little Piece of Heaven
Title
A Little Piece of Heaven
Description
seeing somewhere you spent 5 years of the best times of your life plastered all over the media with words like "massacre" and "blood bath" associated with it did quite a number on me the past two weeks. to return to campus and to immediately feel at home brought up a lot of emotion but also made me feel at ease. all day i kept saying how glad i was that i was there.
campus is like a little piece of heaven. i vividly remember walking across campus one fall evening during my freshman year as the bells at burrus hall were tolling and thinking, "i cant believe im here. i cant believe i really go here!" i was filled with so much pride. whenever and wherever i wear my hokie tshirts, whether it's around town here at home or while traveling to various countries around the world, someone always has something good to say about tech! when my girlfriends and i were in the bahamas last week and we were all wearing our orange and maroon gear that friday, we got a lot of different responses, all giving their condolences, but every time it put a knot in my throat. we dont want to be part of some tragic list and now we're at the top. being on campus really showed how the community has pulled together and that we will prevail. the poems, letters, mementos, messages, flowers, candles, and pictures really hit home because it's the names and faces of all the victims and you cant help but wonder, "what do their families do now? some were supposed to graduate in two weeks. some parents were supposed to bring their freshmen home after their first year of college. who cleans out their dorm rooms while everyone else is busy moving out? dont you remember those friends you made in the dorm freshman year? i wonder what life is like on the 4th floor of west aj?" at one spot on the table was a simple note from the mom of a victim. it was the last quick letter she probably left on the kitchen counter for him/her to see when they came home. just something simple, everyday. but now those occurrences are gone for those people. that's when it's real.
despite all the sorrow around campus, there's lots of life. there are ribbons and fabric tied on every lamp post and tree on campus. everyone is wearing orange and maroon and it's ok to see a sad face or a tear or a family hugging together. classes are wrapping up and people were starting to move out. it was neat to be back in the dining halls eating one of my favorite meals and to just sit at the chapel looking out over the drill field. we also spent a little time in the book store before heading home. it was a beautiful day in blacksburg...blue skies and not a cloud in the sky. somehow life will go on and that was proven to me today. it was nice to see things for myself to tie in the good memories with the not so good present day press coverage. you still cant help but wonder, is this really real? did something like this really happen here?
below is a link to pictures.
<a href="http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8AaNWrhk4cNme7 ">http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8AaNWrhk4cNme7 </a>
campus is like a little piece of heaven. i vividly remember walking across campus one fall evening during my freshman year as the bells at burrus hall were tolling and thinking, "i cant believe im here. i cant believe i really go here!" i was filled with so much pride. whenever and wherever i wear my hokie tshirts, whether it's around town here at home or while traveling to various countries around the world, someone always has something good to say about tech! when my girlfriends and i were in the bahamas last week and we were all wearing our orange and maroon gear that friday, we got a lot of different responses, all giving their condolences, but every time it put a knot in my throat. we dont want to be part of some tragic list and now we're at the top. being on campus really showed how the community has pulled together and that we will prevail. the poems, letters, mementos, messages, flowers, candles, and pictures really hit home because it's the names and faces of all the victims and you cant help but wonder, "what do their families do now? some were supposed to graduate in two weeks. some parents were supposed to bring their freshmen home after their first year of college. who cleans out their dorm rooms while everyone else is busy moving out? dont you remember those friends you made in the dorm freshman year? i wonder what life is like on the 4th floor of west aj?" at one spot on the table was a simple note from the mom of a victim. it was the last quick letter she probably left on the kitchen counter for him/her to see when they came home. just something simple, everyday. but now those occurrences are gone for those people. that's when it's real.
despite all the sorrow around campus, there's lots of life. there are ribbons and fabric tied on every lamp post and tree on campus. everyone is wearing orange and maroon and it's ok to see a sad face or a tear or a family hugging together. classes are wrapping up and people were starting to move out. it was neat to be back in the dining halls eating one of my favorite meals and to just sit at the chapel looking out over the drill field. we also spent a little time in the book store before heading home. it was a beautiful day in blacksburg...blue skies and not a cloud in the sky. somehow life will go on and that was proven to me today. it was nice to see things for myself to tie in the good memories with the not so good present day press coverage. you still cant help but wonder, is this really real? did something like this really happen here?
below is a link to pictures.
<a href="http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8AaNWrhk4cNme7 ">http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8AaNWrhk4cNme7 </a>
Creator
Krissy Watson
Date
2007-05-07
Contributor
Krissy Watson
Language
eng
Citation
Krissy Watson, “A Little Piece of Heaven,” The April 16 Archive, accessed April 25, 2024, https://april16archive.org/items/show/132.