Ask any college student in the country what they enjoy most about being away at school, and I guarantee the word “freedom” will come up rather quickly.
We all left high school itching to break free from adult supervision to discover a world all our own – to find our interests, establish our own routines and make our own decisions.
And, for most of us, it’s been pretty great. We’ve adjusted to living on our own, we don’t need to call home as often and we’ve started to embrace our independence.
But we still have a long way to go.
As Uncle Ben would say, “with great power comes great responsibility,” and it’s this responsibility that many of us still lack. Sure, we drag our butts to class most days and try to pay our cable bills on time, but there’s a certain kind of obligation that many of us unknowingly ignore – a kind that only comes out when tragedy strikes.
Just when we think we’re on top of the world and nothing can touch us, something happens that knocks us to our knees. Whether it’s a school shooting, a tragic car accident or the sudden passing of a classmate, we are tragically reminded that we are not invincible.
There are things that can harm us and no day is a guarantee. Bad people exist, and good people get hurt. Things go wrong, and only the good die young.
The harshness of these realities are easy to forget when your biggest worries consist of making sure you get your work done in time to meet your friends at the bar. But they do exist. And every day they claim a new victim – a young and helpless college student who had their whole life ahead of them until recklessness, violence or sickness decided to get in the way.
Our parents have told us that life isn’t fair but none of them could prepare us for when we learn that lesson firsthand. Our carefree lives get interrupted with catastrophe, and we’re left wondering if we could have put a stop to it. Someway, somehow.
The truth is, we are not invincible. We can’t dodge bullets, we’re not immune to disease and we can’t determine the future.
What we can do is appreciate where we are now – the places we live, the people we love and the opportunities we are given. We can breathe slowly, think deeply and love longingly.
We can show the world that no curveball they throw our way is going to dampen the spirit of this generation. From the devastating results of 9/11 to the terrifying outcome of the Boston bombing, we’ve witnessed it all.
But we’ve also seen what it takes to overcome it. And that working together, helping one another and choosing to move forward is the only path to take.
We are not invincible. But we are resilient. We’ll go on with our daily lives, we’ll continue taking risks and we’ll try our best to enjoy every minute.
Bring it on world, we’re ready for you.
This article was written in honor of Kayla Nakonechni and Tally Sepot. Kayla and Tally were both Penn State students that were taken from this world far too quickly. Kayla passed from cancer and Tally was the victim of a fatal car accident. They will live in the minds and hearts of their fellow classmates for years to come.