October 1, 2017 is a day that has forever changed my story. This day has also impacted 58 other families’ directly. We are all from different parts of the country but together we share one devastation. We don’t all have the same skin color but we all have the same scaring memories. We might not all talk the same but we can all communicate our experiences. We are strong. We are brave. Through tragedy we have stood and fought back together as one. We all lean to each other during the hard times. We all have the same mourning losses. We are in this fight together. Our religion doesn’t define our beliefs and our skin does not separate us. Six months later and we are Vegas Strong.
This task was a lot of fun but at the same time sad. It brought up feelings and emotions that have been locked away from an experience that happened six months ago. Its very hard to write about this because I have a close classmate who is one of the 58 angels that was lost on the night of October 1, and we would have been celebrating his 21 birthday last week. I wrote this assignment in honor of my friends that were either shot or killed in this horrible disaster. After being through this experience together it has made us extremely close. It has helped us appreciate life and it is helping us add to our story. This assignment also helped me recognize that even though there were so many people at the Route 91 Harvest Festival we are still all connected through this one experience that we get to share with one another.
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| Picture from Route 91 Harvest Festival |
Heidi, reading your blog was so great and very interesting to see the personal reflection. What happened that night in Las Vegas shook the entire nation. What you said was so very powerful and incredible to hear. It is great how every single one of you is in the fight together and that you are all there for each other. Very good story.
ReplyDeleteI would like to highlight this phrase that you share in your blog, “We might not all talk the same but we can all communicate our experiences.”
ReplyDeleteExplaining multicultural communication leads me to think of two positions, one in which cultural barriers separate cultures from one another, influencing in this way geographical barriers, beliefs, and language. The latter can be clearly seen in the Tower of Babel. It was enough for God to do only one thing - to confuse the languages of humanity - so that they could not communicate with each other.
The other position you mention is in the midst of difficulty, of tragedy, of pain, where people can unite no matter how you look, how you pronounce a word, while your hands and eyes show compassion for others. Thanks Heidi for your post.
Heidi,
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing your story. I am sorry that you went through this traumatic event. I admire your strength and faith. Sharing your story and strength will inspire others. I am sure that it was hard to write about this event and remembering what you lost. I know that even though you were hurt emotionally by experiencing this, that your faith has increased. I also pray that you and all that went through this continue to heal.