"We are Virginia Tech
We are sad today
And we will be sad for quite a while
We are NOT moving on
We are embracing our mourning
We are Virginia Tech
We are strong enough to stand tall tirelessly
We are brave enough to bend to cry, and sad enough to know
We must laugh again
We are Virginia Tech
We do not understand this tragedy
We know we did nothing deserve it
But neither does the child in Africa, dying of AIDS
Neither do the invisible children, walking the night away to avoid being captured by rogue army
Neither does the baby elephant, watching his community be devastated for ivory
Neither does the Mexican child looking for fresh water
Neither does the Appalachian child, killed in his own crib, in the home his father built with his own hands, being run over by a boulder because the land was destabilized
No one deserves a tragedy
We are Virginia Tech
The Hokie nation embraces our own and reaches out with open heart and hands to those that offer their hearts and minds
We are strong and brave and innocent and unafraid,
We are better than we think and not quite what we want to be
We are live to the imagination
And the possibility we will continue to invent the future
Through our blood and tears
Through all this sadness
We are the Hokies
We will prevail
We will prevail
We will prevail
WE ARE...
...VIRGINIA TECH"
An Open Letter:"When we pass through a door, whether entering or leaving, whether 18 or 76, we cannot know if we will ever pass through again. We cannot know everyone who has preceded us, we cannot know all those who will follow, or even how long the door will stand. We can only know our intentions. I was always taught that a gentleman holds the door open so that others may pass through first. Monday, both a teacher and some students taught me that a gentleman must sometimes struggle to hold a door shut. I will never pass through a door again without remembering what has happened at Virginia Tech. But Monday's horror will not keep me from passing through these or any other doors. For when I pass through a door it will be with the knowledge that my purpose will always be to be doing something for which I would not mind being remembered for. I will always check any unkind thoughts at the door. I will hold the door open for those in need, even if it is those in need of a second chance. And I will hold the door shut for as long as I can, whenever I must." |
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