Hokie Love

The past two days have just been absolutely surreal. My heart is heavy, and I think that I speak for everyone around me. After a gunman stormed the Virginia Tech campus, killing over 30 people and wounding over 20 more, the entire country has stood by with our mouths hanging open. As someone who grew up in southern Virginia, although I chose not to attend the school, Virginia Tech has been around me my entire life. So many of my friends were- are- Hokies. My uncle played football at Tech. It was one of the few colleges I actually toured, and it was where I sat in on my first college course, my first college party. And in Blacksburg, it feels it's in my backyard. JMU grew to love (in a quite bittersweet way..haha) those years when we faced VT in football, because despite the inevitable slaughter, the Hokies were our closest friends and we relished the chance to party and celebrate together before... and during...... oh yeah, and after the game, as well. Hokies were undoubtedly our closest friends, and when our communities came together it felt we were an unstoppable force.

The concept that a student was so filled with depression, and anger, and hatred... and disregard for human life... is terrifying and saddening. The lives that were senselessly lost yesterday overwhelm me, and my heart absolutely aches- throbs- for the Virginia Tech community. I can't image picking up the pieces of a 26000+ student community and moving along in the face of such tragedy, but at the same time I am so inspired by the closeness of the students, the ability of the community to pull together, the love and support everyone has shown for one another. Maybe Nikki Giovanni put it best in today's convocation- they will carry on, and they will stand strong in the face of adversity. Strong enough to hold their heads high with strength and pride, brave enough to cry for those lost and hurting... They are HOKIES.

Blacksburg is behind you. So are JMU, UVA, Mason, VCU, and the entire state of Virginia. And although I am feeling secluded and rather lonely out here in Denver, and would give anything to hug my Tech friends and hold their hands, I can attest to the fact that Colorado, and the rest of the nation, support VT as well. Be strong and know that you are in thoughts and prayers nationally. As we've all heard countless times today, and I couldn't put it better myself... today, we are all Hokies.