And it hits you hard, like a s-h-i-t ton of bricks.
Many of you may follow along on my adventures on my Instagram or Twitter, but many have been very basic recently, like formal, birthday, or my typical ‘I love my sisters‘ posts. Why? Cause life hit me and I’m about to get a bit personal with you all.
A lot of times we live in a bubble. We get used to the routine of our lives, sometimes spiced up with a little love-life drama or hard decisions that need to be made. After loosing my father in high school, I am well aware that one day can rock your entire world, not to sweat the small stuff, and the importance of processing your own thoughts.
But sometimes, events that can rock your world hit you all at once….
I am sure you heard about the Belgium attacks on the news, maybe even listened to the Quinnipiac University students who were there talk about what they went through – what they were lucky enough to live through.
The pretty, skinny blonde in the pictures? Yeah, that’s my grand little, one of the people I hold closest to my heart. She’s a best friend, a partner in crime, and one of the women who will beside me at my (one day, far away) wedding. And she was fifty feet away from a bomb that went off in Brussels from a terrorist attack.
That morning, I woke up to a text message from her to our sorority family saying that she was safe, but the airport she was leaving out of today for spring break was the one that was bombed. She informed us she was safe and that she loved us. And then we didn’t get to talk to her for many, many hours.
I woke up to this before I even knew that there was a bombing, before my Twitter feed was flooded with news outlets sharing about the event, and before my school let us know that it was three of our own that were there.
And I was then forced to continue on my day – classes, spinning with my great-great grand little, homework, etc. Going about my normal day, while everyone else was talking about, gossiping about it, while my sorority family realized our lives could have drastically changed.
And now this was something I needed to process and take this all in. Sudden emotions – the shock, the fear, the sadness – aside, I needed to think this all through.
But before I got to completely process this, one of my other sorority sisters was diagnosed with metastatic cancer. I was supposed to see Corey, my rush crush, days before we got the news at a local St. Patrick’s Day parade. Now, she was not going to be back for the rest of the semester to focus on her health and go through chemotherapy.
From the moment I spoke to her at recruitment, I knew she was a perfect Alpha Delta Pi and someone who was meant to be a special part of my life. She’s as beautiful on the inside and she is outside and can always make me laugh. Someone who has so much going for her should never have to go through this and thinking about her illness was a lot to process.
She was someone my age and her whole life had been flipped upside down.
Please think about donating to Corey’s GoFundMe. Over $20k was raised in 6 days and you can help make even more of a difference!
So here I was, within two weeks, thinking about two things that twenty-two year olds, or even anyone, should not have to be thinking about. Ever. And now they were both on my plate to process.
And that didn’t even conclude the stress of graduating next month and finding a job because trust me, I think I have a quarter-life crisis everyday about this. Just ask my best friend Paul….I’m always hyperventilating about this.
Plus, class, Greek Week, being an RA, and everything in between… life just hit me. I had a lot to think about, a lot to take in, and a longer to do list than ever before. And if you have ever had a lot going on with a long to-do list, you know it would take super powers to truly focus to the best of your ability.
Here’s to the good days that remind us that there’s more than just the bad. Here’s to Lauren’s safety and here’s to Corey being one of the strongest women I know. Here’s to the future, the unknown, and the support system I have to get me through it. Importantly, here’s to this crazy thing called life.
Sparkle and Shine 