On Moving Forward: Reflecting on the Boston Bombings

Boston University didn’t close its doors the Tuesday after the bombings. As my best friend Danni McGovern, a second-year student at BU’s College of Communication, put it, “It’s good to have a sense of normalcy after something like that happens.”

She’s right. While grieving itself is not inherently bad, it was nice to have a sense of the normal routine instilled across the campus following both the bombings and the subsequent lockdown. While many students, faculty, staff, and passersbys chose to remain at home or in places of comfort, the world around us turned on, and it was business as usual to the greatest extent possible.

I don’t know what the policy was at other schools, but as far as I can tell, BU is getting back to normal. Boxes are being packed across campus, internships are being planned and we’re all getting antsy for summer months full of beach trips and parties.

I can only hope that the rest of Boston is able to cope with the tragedy like the BU community has. The sense of togetherness here is so strong that I have no doubt Boston will be able to recover.

[pullquote]The sense of togetherness here is so strong that I have no doubt Boston will be able to recover.[/pullquote]

Quickly after the bombings, the One Fund Boston was created to financially assist those most affected by the actions of Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev. The victims of the bombings have been honoured at sporting events and other activities across the city and the nation. Just last night, bombing victim Jeff Bauman was made the banner captain at the Bruins game against the Maple Leafs.

While what happened on Monday, April 15 will forever mark the reputation of Boston, I am confident that it won’t leave a mark on its people. We are all forcing ourselves to get back to our routines. We haven’t forgotten about the bombings or the victims, and I don’t think we ever could. We are merely moving forward, and are confident that those responsible for the bombings will be swiftly and sufficiently punished for their actions.