16th

As many of you know, last April 16th was a terrible day at Virginia Tech. A lot of lives were lost for no good reason and one of those lives was one of my close friends Ryan Clark. It has taken me a long time to be able to talk about it but now that it's the 16th again I can't help but think of everything that's happened. I really miss Ryan, and I know I'm not the only one.

As what almost seemed to be a gut reaction, at the time, the school made, those now well known, Hokies United shirts. It was a great gesture and a way for people to bond and show each other support but I couldn't help but feel that the shirt totally missed the point. I never got one because I didn't want people to look at me and feel sorry and ask me about the whole ordeal, especially since I lost someone dear. Anyways, because of that I decided to come up with my own shirt and it's my hope that it might someday be made in remembrance of the ones we lost, the strength of the virginia tech community and how we are stronger and moving towards a bright future.

Here's what my shirt could look like. I got the idea after seeing pictures of all the balloons being released on the drill field in honor of all those that were lost. There are 32 balloons, one for each person, and they are being lead up to the sky by a white balloon. I feel that this is the least I can do to help bring closure to not only myself but to others as well.