I have wanted to be a Virginia Tech Hokie since I was 12 years old, and when we had an escaped convict running around campus the first day of my freshman year, I thought it could not be any worse. But here I was, on April 16th, 2007, being woken up by the worst phone call of my life.
Like the rest of the world I turned to the news. It’s a disquieting feeling when you need the television and the Internet to tell you what is going on a couple hundred yards away. Students sat in front of the televisions, locked in our dormitories, watching the worst day of our lives unfold minute by minute, casualty by casualty.
As I watched the numbers of the dead and the wounded increase I frantically scrambled to call everyone in my cell phone’s memory. I remember thinking when I was on the phone with my mother that while I was sitting safely in my room, reassuring her that I was fine, some other Hokie would never get to make that call. That was the first time I cried that day.
I knew one of the 32 people who were killed, and she was one of the most beautiful people I’ve ever met, inside and out. We were not the best of friends, but we lived in the same building and she never failed to ask how I was when we ran into each other. She always had this big smile on her face. She never came home from her class that morning, and the entire building could only wait, dreading her absence.
I hope that no one ever has to experience the feelings I felt, hoping that she made it out, but knowing in my gut that I was wrong. I found at 10:30 p.m. that she had not left Norris Hall. It had been over 12 hours since the news came that a massacre had begun, and I thought my heart could not break anymore. I was wrong.
Amidst the panic and the confusion, Virginia Tech somehow managed to come together. Maybe it’s the football, or maybe because everyone looks good in orange and maroon, but through the blood and the tears, we still were Hokies.
The place we loved was broken and crying, but that very night, before the events were even a day old, the Hokies made the decision to survive. Virginia Tech is here to stay.
Much has been said of the staggering character and sense of community we showed to the world in those dark days after the shooting, and the truth is, I think that the world finally found out what it meant to be a “Hokie.”
Hokies take hits and keep running. Hokies reach out and make you feel right at home. Here it is, a year later, and I still could not be more indebted to the world for the support I was given as a Virginia Tech student. I could not be prouder of my school.
Tragedy strikes and pain never really leaves, but in a year life changes so much. I spent a summer away from Virginia Tech and I’ve been back for almost a full school year. This place is still the school I’ve known and loved, and even though we have gone through hell, we still bleed orange and maroon. We will never forget the ones we lost.
As the anniversary of the shooting at Virginia Tech comes and goes, the Hokies will remind the world how strong we really are. There will be tears and there will be pain, but there is also acceptance and hope.
We accept that this nightmare will always be a part of it, and we hope that the ideas and bonds that shape the Virginia Tech community will only grow stronger.
