Dear Newtown, I just wanted to pass a note along.
My name is Kirsten Casey, and I am from Littleton, Colorado. I was 17 when Columbine happened, and anytime something horrific like Columbine, or Sandy Hook, or the Aurora theater happens, it feels like wounds are being ripped open all over again.
I was not a student at Columbine, but at Dakota Ridge, where President Clinton spoke days later. I wanted to let you know that I feel for you, as does the entire country, but I also know what its like to have reporters and news media taking over your entire town.
I know how it feels to have to relive the same thing over and over again because they think Americans can’t get enough of the story. I also wanted to let you know that things do get better.
You’ll always mourn those who lost their lives, and things will never be ‘normal’ again. But if you let time heal as it should, you’ll be able to start a new normal. One where people love each other a little bit more, and fight a little bit less. One where you start to feel safer and far more grateful because you came together as a community.
So, please, take a moment to breathe, hug people a little bit tighter. Keep your heads up and know that the worst of it is over.
E.E. Cummings once wrote, ‘I carry your heart with me (I carry it in my heart). We’ll be carrying you in our hearts.
Kirsten Casey
