In just five short days the 119th annual Boston Marathon will take place. However, two years ago today April 15, 2013 at 2:49pm the city of Boston endured an event that changed Boston forever. It was the type of day that you will never forget where you were when it happened. With Boston being so close to home for me, the Boston Marathon was always an event we always participated in. Many of my family members have run the 26-miles and the day of the bombing was no different from any other year. However, this particular year we decided not to go into the Marathon but to instead tour colleges out of the state. When the news broke that the first bomb went off, I was in the Fairfield University downtown Bookstore. I remember my mom calling my grandmother in a panic making sure my cousin and aunt, who were supposed to watch the race, were okay. It turned out something had come up and they decided that morning against going to the marathon. My grandmother was hysterically crying on the phone. She was worried about my cousins who work in Boston at the Prudential Center and John Hancock. My mom finally got in touch with them and both were okay. I just remember scrolling through Twitter on the ride home with the dull sound of the radio recapping the events that had just occurred. The pictures and the tweets were unlike any other day.
The week after the bombing was April vacation for many Massachusetts students. The whole week I lived in fear of those around me. Leaving the house was minimal unless it was for work or going to a friend’s house. My dad would come home from working at Boston University Medical Center telling us about his day. I remember him telling us stories about how heavily armed SWAT teams roamed the streets in packs, and how there would be suspicious packages throughout the day that would close down streets. It wasn’t until April 18th that the FBI released pictures of the Boston Marathon Bombers: Tamerlan Tsarnaev and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. After the pictures of the two bombers were released there was a little bit of comfort in knowing that they knew who committed the terrible act. However, there was still the fear of not know where they were. The day they put Boston on lockdown and found Dzhokhar Tsarnaev in the boat in Watertown, MA was a day of relief for Boston and the state of Massachusetts. Once again, we felt safe in not only our own homes but in our tenacious city.
Just one month before the 2nd Anniversary of the Boston Bombing, Mayor Marty Walsh named April 15th One Boston Day. On this day the city of Boston will remember and honor all of the victims and those affected by the tragedy on April 15, 2013. After the Marathon bombings, many people donned apparel, purchased stickers and created graphics with the phrase ‘Boston Strong’. Being strong means having authority, resilience, and power to push through anything and that is exactly what Boston did in a time of such vulnerability. One Boston Day will be a day to unite and join forces and help others.
On this day I encourage you to…
1. Help a friend in need
2. Hold the door open for someone else
3. Say hello to a stranger
4. Give a someone a compliment
5. Write a thank you note
6. Call someone you haven’t talked to in awhile
7. Donate blood
8. Donate money to your favorite charity
9. Or simply just donate your time