Jamie — Plainview, New York

Screen shot of the status my friend made the day of the Boston marathon

On Monday, April 14th, I was in my dorm room when I received an email from my sorority’s listserv reading, “ FYI Boston Marathon.” In the email, it was explained that two bombs had exploded at the finish line of the Boston Marathon and news stations were starting to cover it. Although it was horrible, it didn’t hit me immediately — I’m from New York and didn’t think I knew anyone who’s be involved in the race. However, I thought wrong.

Soon after the word began to spread, I was reminded of a status my friend from home had posted earlier. It read, “HEY FACEBOOK WORLD, today my mom is running in the Boston Marathon for the THIRD TIME! Good luck, you make me the proudest!” I immediately texted her and found out that her mom had finished the race 15 minutes before the first bomb went off. Then, my mind began racing. I remembered that my friend, who attends Tufts University, went to Boston all the time. She texted me saying that she made a last minute decision not to volunteer at the marathon, but that her friends had still gone and were stuck in the area. Another friend, at Boston University, was thankfully okay too.

Knowing that all of my friends and their loved ones were safe was comforting, but seeing the images all over the media was not. As a New Yorker who remembers 9/11 all too vividly and the feeling of not knowing if your loved ones were safe, I can sympathize with the city of Boston having an act of terrorism hit so close to home.

It’s not okay that some people will never walk again, people are fighting for their lives, and three families are forever changed by this event.