Hokie Nation

Over the past few days, I have been trying to make sense of the nonsense that is happening on our East coast. I am trying to come to grips with the mentality and the thoughts that were going through the mass murderer's head. Why? None of those college students, who were weeks from graduating, deserved to die at the hand of a mentally ill individual.

Working in a psychiatric hospital for one of my clinical rotations, I caught a glimpse of what a paranoid schizophrenic goes through on a minute by minute basis. They lose all control of their thoughts and, more importantly, the line between fantasy and reality is blurred. The rehabilitation process for these individuals is long, extensive, and intense. Due to the amount of patience and understanding needed by healthcare professionals specializing in the field of psychiatry, only certain people were hand-chosen by our good Lord to care of individuals dealing with psychiatric disorders and mental illnesses. However, in my opinion, the crimes committed by these individuals should never be overlooked or diluted due to their mental illness. They should receive treatment and continue to receive treatment until they are no longer deemed a threat to themselves or those around them. The actions of the mass murderer at VaTech are inexcusable.

I guess the hardest thing that I am trying to deal with is my valiant attempt to put myself in the shoes of those heroic and amazing individuals caught between the crosshairs at VaTech. I keep wondering what would my reaction be or what would my first thought be. What would I do once I realized what was happening and could this possibly be where my life comes to a dead end? Who would I miss the most and who would miss me? If I had a chance to call someone, what would I say? As I turn to every single newscast headlined by the massacre, there seems to be a new story about a student and his/her accomplishments and how their life was cut short. I can't help but wonder how those individuals' lives would have played out if they would have survived those gunshot wounds. But, in a split second, I realize that they are in a place that I only aspire to be in one day and their stories ended the way our amazing Author had written it.

The tragedy on April 16, 2007 will never be forgotten. The questions, assumptions, and theories will continue to be brought to the forefront. My prayers are sent to all of those young college students and their families and the hope that things will get better and this to shall pass. May God continue to look over all of those dealing with the Va Tech tragedy and to all of those individuals having to deal and cope with loss of a loved one.

"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." -Jeremiah 29:11