Column: In peace, we will find our strength
Nasif S. Hossain, CT Guest Columnist
April 20, 2007
Life throws us for a loop when bad things happen to good people. When I was 15, my father died, and I questioned everything I was taught about the world. Whenever lives end suddenly, we question whether the world we live in is worth our efforts. I believe that we live our lives for our good efforts and good work. We are people know how powerful it is to stay positive even in adversity. When the team is in despair, the coach is the sole voice of strength, of faith in the team's hard work. We must not forget that what we all stand for, individually as people, and as members of a community, are what make us stronger than anything that life throws at us.
I have never, ever lost sight of the good people here at Virginia Tech.
We do not need many reminders to realize this. The professor who sacrificed himself to save lives, the student who saved his classroom, punctuate the power of good people. The various individuals who urged a troubled child to seek counseling, the teacher who referred a troubled student to therapy, all show how many helping hands we have. We must take whatever help we can get, and realize that there is more good in this world than evil. In Peace, we will find our strength.
Life throws us for a loop when bad things happen to good people. When I was fifteen, my father died, and I questioned everything I was taught about the world. Whenever lives end suddenly, we question whether the world we live in is worth our efforts. I believe that we live our lives and our good efforts, our good works, mean something. Our good work, our faith, our unity, our community, is here to improve ourselves and the world.
When we are alone, saddened it rarely seems worth it. It is hard to try to improve ourselves and the world, especially when we deal with all that burdens us. After years and years of confusion, I came to the same conclusion I have come to now: When one person hurts another, it is often out of small fears.
The professor who saved students' lives on Monday, our faith, our unity, our community, are all here to improve ourselves and the world. We must not forget that what we all stand for, individually as people, and as members of a community, are what make us stronger than anything that life throws at us.
When we are alone, saddened it rarely seems worth it. It is hard to try to improve ourselves and the world, especially when we deal with all that burdens us. After years and years of confusion, I came to the same conclusion I have come to now: Hard as it is, we can never let the pain take us over. When one person hurts another, it is often out of small fears. We fear what people may think if we admit that we need help.
Hokies know, it is a strength to reach out for help.
In putting forth this effort, in trying to be strong, we help everyone around us. We must seek out our loved ones, and let them know how much they mean to us. We must try hard to console even those with whom we have argued with. We must deal, we must cope, and care. The people who look to us for a shoulder to cry on, and the ones we look to, all understand the challenges life imposes on us. There are people all around who need to see our strength, but more than that, we need to see the strength in ourselves. This is an arduous, difficult, seemingly insurmountable task. Being strong will feel like having to climb a colossal mountain. We must remember, that every single journey must start with a single step. After spending time with your loved ones, reach out to others. Let us not be strangers to each other. I hope that after all this we can forge new bonds of closeness and friendship. Peace is our strength, our friend and everyone needs friends the most.
"The world, as we know it, is scary. It is my hope that it will be reshaped, by those who reject fear and choose peace."