On Friday, I could not escape the feelings of helplessness, sadness and fear. The events in Newtown, CT struck a nerve for me. The last time the news brought me to tears, that I can remember was 9/11. I tried to hold myself together at work. I popped into H&M to make a quick return on my way home. The sight of a random 7-year-old girl, made me tear up and realize I was going to probably lose it when I was finally in the comfort of my home. And I did.
My career path began with a passion for journalism. It’s weeks like this that make me thankful I get to focus on health and fitness. I don’t want to ignore the tragedy but I can’t escape feeling so utterly helpless. I can only hope that I would be as brave as those that lost their lives. I avoid politics here for a reason but want to share with you a couple of articles that make me feel like maybe I can help.
The Westboro Baptist Church has allegedly threatened to picket outside the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, CT. The so-called church is famous for picketing funerals of fallen soldiers and is known for targeting the gay community. Anonymous, the hacker website, in response published the emails, addresses, and phone numbers for each WBC member. Never thought I would support Anonymous but there is a first for everything. What you can do is sign a petition that will make the Baptist Church a hate group (vs being protected by free speech) which will hopefully put a stop to their antics. Learn more about how you can sign the petition here. It just needs 10,000 more signatures to get Obama to look at it by January 13th.
The other interesting article was written by a mother who is afraid of her son who may or may not have autism, aspergers, or other mental illness. She has no relation to the shooting but admits that her son has threatened her life and is just 13 years old. The only way she has been told to make sure her sons can’t harm her or anyone else is to have him charged with a crime. It’s sad and scary but brings up the issue regarding how we deal with mental illness in our country. While everyone is rooting for more strict laws when it comes to gun control, mental illness perhaps should be an equally hot topic for reform. Read I am Adam Lanza’s Mother post on Gawker here.
I am not a mother yet. One day I hope to be. Events like this scare me to death. I can’t imagine the pain of losing a child. I also don’t know what I would do if I were the mother in the above article. My heart is still aching and I’m not sure when I’ll be able to stop thinking about the events that happened in the classrooms but sad events like this make me realize how short life can be. Don’t wait to tell someone you love them. Follow your heart and your gut. Stop procrastinating and start doing. Stop comparing yourself and life to others and see the happiness in your own.
