Note: Although this blog is being posted on a Sunday at around 4 pm, it was originally written on Friday during 3rd period.
As the fourth week of school draws to a close, I find myself with little to say. I apologize in advance for the crude language...I can't seem to refine my words right now. There doesn't seem to be much of a point to try to intellectualize and pretty-up a situation where people have lost their houses and lives. Yesterday before 6:24 pm I was bursting with ideas of what I should discuss, but now none of them seem to matter much. I had planned on complaining about PT (physical training) with the Marine Corps recruits on Wednesday, but in the wake of the horrible explosion and subsequent fire in San Bruno a mere sixteen hours ago, this seems so insignificant.
I suppose that if we were in a fiction novel there would be high school English classes that would analyze the significance of the large smoke cloud hovering over San Bruno; they'd say that it was not only the aftermath of the natural disaster, but that it was also a metaphorical reference to the heavy cloud of dispair that hangs over each Bay Area citizen right now. The mood of the school is heavy. Exhuasted bodies of rescue workers are heavy. Endlessly crying eyes are heavy.
As of 10:15 am on Friday morning I don't know of anyone at the school that was directly affected by the fire or explosion. I know of a few people that have friends or family that have been affected; I myself have a few friends that live only a few miles from the accident.
My taekwondo studio is also relatively close to the incident site, and when I went for class at 8:45 that night the amount of displaced people searching for their families and places to stay was astounding.
Seeing natural disasters on television is one thing; seeing people your age holding each other and crying shifts the whole world into perspective.
As I bring this rather long post to a close, Jersey Shore plays on a computer near me. Ronnie just asked JWow what she wants to eat for dinner.
What's the point?
You are an excellent writer Kaiya... I can't get over sometimes how close you are to being "legal", makes me both proud and scared. What the San Bruno explosion means(and 9-11, and any other tragedy honestly): do what matters most to you, be happy, let things roll off your back, love the people who love you and always have your back (even when you think they don't), trust your instincts, cut the dead weight from your life, smile more, dream about the future but be present in the present. Life IS short so really look at thwat you have, be grateful for it, and be the best you can be: in life, love, relationships, school, work, etc., but always take some time out to smell the flowers...
ReplyDelete