High school graduates from Sandy Hook will be celebrating today, with the tragic memories of their lost first-grade classmates who perished in a massacre.
On this day, the gradual transition of the 20 little lives snatched away at Sandy Hook Elementary School during the catastrophic massacre of 2012 would have witnessed their entry into adult life. These were inquisitive young souls, who, hypothetically, would have traversed their path of education, perhaps chased dreams, and evolved into chaperoned beings. Unfortunately, their innocent journey was jarringly stopped due to the inhumane act of violence that took the lives of six teachers and administrators.
Today, as we pause and reflect, a segment of this very batch of surviving classmates will put on their graduation gowns, where each of them will bear a green and white ribbon in fond memory of their perished friends and devout educators. Newtown High School’s graduating class of 2024 is creating an unforeseen spectacle by acknowledging these horrific events. The ribbons, inscribed with the words "Forever In Our Hearts," are not just a gesture, but a timeless salute to the souls lost in a moment of clamorous agony – who may have shared the school corridor or may have momentarily left the classroom, missing the fatal turns.
Emma, then a tiny half-dozen-year-old, anticipated crafting gingerbread houses like the characters in her favorite fairy tales. Instead, she was a passive observer to the pact of terror instigated by a 20-year-old soldier laden with a semi-automatic assault weapon and two handguns. The preliminary noise struck her as construction rummage, a notion that held peculiar significance, in their room.
"A man came into my classroom, he was armed, and started shooting all of my friends, my teachers, and my classmates," Emma recalled, her thoughts drifting and loosening their bonds to her heart, "His weapon misfired. A person from my class, who was called Jesse Lewis, prompted us to leave. The rampage stopped, and so did Lisa. We were his witnesses. But not all were so fortunate."
Jesse Lewis, an unfiltered joy and an enthusiastic equestrian, was one of the children who succumbed to the perverse agenda of the shooter. He never had the chance to make gingerbread houses. Likewise, one of Emma's classmates in the Girl Scouts, Jessica Rekos, was also brutally taken from the land at the tender age of 6.
Emma, who was gearing up to fabricate gingerbread houses, was inevitably smothered by the consciousness of the colossal loss. "I've heard the word 'death' but didn't comprehend what it all meant until that particular day," she said. "That day deprived me of much of my innocence."
Meanwhile, Grace does not shy away from her memories and has preemptively absorbed the trauma. The special bond she shared with her fellow classmates could not be shaken. "It's going to be heart-wrenching," she expressed. "Twenty kids are missing and they're not getting the opportunity to cross the stage to mark a significant milestone."
The curiosity in her eyes, a window to a past shared with her lost classmates, is intertwined with a steely resolve to change the future. "Looking at it realistically, I've got to make a choice, and I chose to focus on law and justice," affirmed Grace, her determination not hidden in her words. "I have an obligation. Even though they're not here anymore, I'm advocating for them – their naive lives had gotten robbed of so much."
Emma and Grace recount their stories, and work towards enacting change through the Junior Newtown Action Alliance (Junior NAA). They feel the survivor's guilt, but are using this sentiment to push for restricted access to assault weapons and proactive steps to secure our schools from similar shootings. Grace is anticipating her departure for Hamilton College, with the understanding that she'll be an advocate for gun violence prevention and a utility of monumental impact. Fortunately, both girls are lending their voices to those who're not here to express their sorrow or the ambitions they could have nourished from being young and free. No longer prisoners to the fear that bound them, they're turning the page to a new chapter of education and safety. Being bereft of their friends and teachers to share in this joyous and significant event cannot erase the ink of fate upon them, and they're ready to do whatever it takes to be the light that radiates for their departed brothers and sisters.
High school seniors, representing the sole survivors from Newtown, will cling to the abstract glint of their futures with a critical awareness and grim retrospection, preserving the notion that their classmates, whose very presence they yearn, are an eternal part of an intricate web of connections and that their mere presence was capable of prompting important, tangible change. It's a day of uplift and sorrow, as students, with one eye towards the end, and the other to the past, forge ahead, paving the path for generations yet unborn.
"I'm finished with school, off to college, returning home, meeting my pet - these are things they can't experience right now. It's truly challenging."
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During this commemoration, US lawmakers and advocates join in solidarity with the survivors, expressing their support and shared grief over the loss. This collective display of unity serves as a reminder that the tragedy resonates beyond the borders of Sandy Hook.
As the graduation ceremony unfolds, members of the international community may also choose to wear green and white ribbons as a symbol of unity and solidarity, emphasizing that the spirit of the lost classmates transcends the boundaries of Newtown, US.
