Today was starting off so well.
Exchanging Valentine's Day gifts with Katie. A lunch shared with all my coworkers. Getting ahead on several projects (even finishing a few).
And then this...
A gunman on the campus of Northern Illinois University.
Several people were reported to have been taken away in ambulances. Unconfirmed reports of four people shot. The gunman is thought to have killed himself. Emergency vehicles all over campus. Classes canceled and people sent away. Far away.
This was my home for six and a half years. I earned two degrees from this school. It is a half hour away from where Katie and I now live. Katie got her degree there. So did my brother. I worked on the campus as a Front Desk Attendant, Hall Council President, Resident Assistant, Hall Director, and Teaching Assistant.
I developed lifelong friends there. I keep in touch with old professors and actually still work with one. Katie and I visit semi-regularly just to see what's what. To visit the bookstore and buy new swag. To dine at our favorite Mexican restaurant. We love that campus and we love that town.
And we are both in shock.
Complete and utter, mind-numbing shock.
Why are the people in this world so goddamned stupid?
To the current classes of Huskies, know that the hearts of your alumni are with you in your time of need.
To those injured, may you recover quickly.
To those who succumb to their injuries, may you never be forgotten.
To those that perpetrated these acts... I have no words. Just anger, confusion, and hatred. I don't like using that word, but I can't come up with a better one.
