Community

I believe in community.  The community you live in, the community of friends, and the community that comes together for those affected by tragedy.  I grew up in a small town, where everyone knows everyone else in one way or another, and what happens to somebody affects all of us.  Last week, an 18-year old girl lost her parents and brother to the ocean, and watched it happen.  She had graduated from high school the year before, and her brother went to the high school where my parents work.  My mom is the crisis counselor at the school, so she has spent long hours helping students, staff, and faculty navigate the grieving process.  I believe in the support a community can offer those who suffer.  I know that when one suffers, many suffer with them.  I'm proud to come from that community.  To know that the people there come together in times of grief and sorrow to help lift up those who are affected most.

I know that nothing will make things better for the daughter left behind, but I hope that the knowledge of her community rallying behind her will make her grief a little easier to bear.