laura. twenty-three. grad student. kind of awkward. kind of awesome. living a beautiful life filled with beautiful people, and sometimes compelled to write about it.
i run the YAforELA blog.
keep up with me on twitter. @letsdisco
I feel like something irreplaceable has been stolen from me, which isn’t really far from the truth. I feel heartbroken, devastated, angry, disgusted. The fact that one malicious, disgruntled fan can hurt an entire community so profoundly is sickening. The fact that he can strip us of such a huge source of history, of tradition, of pride is unfathomable. I feel sick to my stomach. I feel like I’m in mourning, and I guess I kind of am.
Nick hasn’t ever had the chance to roll these trees. I’m holding out all hope that they’ll still be here next fall so that he can make that memory for himself. I want that so badly for him. He deserves that chance to say goodbye.
We’ve all been catching so much grief about “making such a big deal about a couple of trees,” but I guess it’s hard for people who aren’t a part of this university and all of the tradition that comes with it to understand. These are so much more than trees. These are landmarks of history, of family, of pride. Alumni have been bringing their children to Toomer’s for generations; I was hoping that I’d have the chance to bring my future kids back, too, to bring them to a place that has meant so much to so many people for so long. To a place that means so much to me.
I don’t know why this hurts so much. But these trees are a part of this community, and this community is a part of me. What hurts one hurts the other. I’m devastated.
