People process grief in very individual ways. People heal in individual ways, and on their own schedule that they may not even be aware of.

It’s April 16, 2008. One year ago I sat nearly all day at my television. I called friends that are students, faculty and staff at VA Tech during the nightmare. It started with checking the weather in the morning, then “News Break”. Little by little information trickled in, augmented by video shot on a student’s cell phone. Then the press conference where they admitted at least 20 were shot. Audible gasp from the bystanders. What?! 20!? And then the unbelievable final tally: 32.

I had to travel a few days after the incident. I flew to L.A. I wore my orange and gold ribbon. As I navigated through airports and security people either looked with curiosity at my ribbon, or smiled sadly. As I flew over and across the country, various people from all over the world expressed their sorrow. It was weird to be from such a small place that people knew about. They would ask, “What’s it like there?” I answered, “We’re all heartbroken.”

Today my daughter danced with her studio, The Center of Dance at the Haymarket Theatre in a celebration for all of the victims, and notably Reema Samaha who was a dancer with the Contemporary Dance Ensemble at Virginia Tech. CED had orchestrated the event. On the Friday before the shootings, CDE’s recital performed their spring concert. They had invited my daughter’s class to dance with them. It was my daughter’s first performance on Pointe, and Reema’s last dance of her life. Over the past year, The Center of Dance has performed in three memorials for the Virginia Tech victims. Each time has been heavily emotional for my daughter and the other young girls whose ages range from 12 to 18. My daughter spoke for them all though when she said to me each time; “This is such an honor.” For me, as I watch Reema’s fellow dancers carry on without her, leaving a space in the choreography where she would have been, I am filled with the certainty that she is there. There is an aura of love and yes, peace. Again, my daughter put it best; “It was like she was hugging the whole building.”

I have been moved by this company’s need to share the process of their grief and healing in a very public way. I am impressed by their generosity of spirit to involve all area dance companies. I am touched to my core by their need to continue to dance. As we all must.

Bad things can happen in small communities. But small communities know how to come together to prevail.

-Lucinda McDermott Piro

Like some might think, Southwest Virginia is nothing but a bunch of farms, land, and nothing to do. I will admit that I was ONCE one of those people. I am originally from Chesapeake, VA. where there are things and events going on all the time. I am close to the beach, am surrounded by numerous restaurants, and have an array of options when it comes to finding “something to do.” I am now a senior at Radford University, and people still ask me “Why did you decide to go there? There’s nothing to do in that area!” I’m not going to lie, coming to SWVA from the coast was a big change; but not necessarily a bad one.

As I said before I am a senior at RU and have been playing soccer all four of my years here. Playing soccer and participating in extracurricular activities has given me the opportunity to travel to different states as well as to the many different areas of the SWVA region. Blacksburg has a great main street that is filled with a variety of shops and restaurants. Even though some of the restaurants look small and pretty much like “a hole in the wall,” you would be surprised on how amazing their food really is. The stores and shops are great and you can find things that you wouldn’t normally find in a larger suburban area. One word can describe Christiansburg, “unlimited.” Talk about restaurants; I can name 10 right off the top of my head. There is a mall, a Wal-mart, Target!, I mean what else do you need? Harrisonburg is also “blowing up” per se. For outdoorsy people, there are countless amounts of parks, hiking trails, and beautiful sites to see that you certainly couldn’t get or endure being in a city where you are surrounded by nothing but buildings. With an abundance of things to do, why do people still hold this everlasting thought that Southwest Virginia is a bunch of “nothing”? And trust me, I haven’t even come close to naming everything that this region has to offer. Seriously, not even close.

Being a young adult and living life to the fullest, I can see myself reaching my goals and enjoy doing so in Southwest Virginia.

My name is Chelsea Archer and I am currently a senior at Radford University. I have played soccer all four years for my school and I love to just hang out with my friends. I’ll be graduating in May with a degree in Communication and will be returning to Radford next year to finish my Master’s degree in Corporate and Professional Communication.