Ten Years Gone

I was planning on continuing my Best Of Live in Concert series today, until I was reminded about an event that happened a decade ago in my hometown. I felt compelled to write about that event today, so the Best Of series will have to wait for a little while.

I was walking out of work tonight when a coworker and fellow classmate of mine asked me where I was ten years ago today. She was referring to the tragic shooting at our old high school ROCORI, an event that suddenly put the small town of Cold Spring, MN in the national spotlight.

At the time news broke of the shooting, I was working in downtown St. Cloud. Upon hearing the news, my first call was to my family. My mother was still working as an early childhood education teacher at the nearby elementary school, and a cousin was still a student at the high school. Thankfully they were both okay. As word got out, my coworker friends and I drew our attention to the news as it unfolded throughout the day.

Although the families of Aaron Rollins and Seth Bartell will never be fully healed, neither will the family of the shooter, who it was revealed may have been motivated by bullying by Bartell. While I don't think any of us in the general public will ever really know the full story, I find it sad to think that the whole incident could have been avoided just by cracking down on bullying. I admit I was bullied a bit in elementary school and I had friends who were bullied but gratefully it's something that most of us grow out of.

While it's important for the community to remember this day, it's also important to learn from this tragic event so that it doesn't happen again. Sadly, I hear more events like this happening every year, even though I watch the news less and less nowadays.

Events like this are important to remember, and I'm glad that I can realize the reality of this incident. I"m also thankful that I can appreciate how much greater my life and the lives of people close to me have been since this terrible day. I think that's the greatest lesson I've learned from this.

Well, until next time, have a safe and happy week everyone!