Boston Strong

I may have been born in Franklin, Massachusetts, but I will always consider Boston my home. I love going to that city because I have always felt safe and relaxed. Seeing all of the beautiful sights around me such as Copley Square, Faneuil Hall, and the Boston Commons made me realize just how beautiful the world truly is. Bostonians are very friendly (unless you’re a Yankee’s fan) and never fail to smile at you when you walk by. Everyone who is from Boston is proud to be from there. I will always and forever love Boston. It’s one of the best places in the world.

 As long as I can remember, Marathon Monday was one of the happiest days of the year. Many people who run in the Boston Marathon were participating because they overcame a sickness or disease, running for a loved one, or they just love running. On the sidelines are their supporters. Even strangers support strangers. The people standing on the side want to cheer every single runner on and congratulate them on their accomplishment of running more than twenty-six miles.  There are a lot of signs saying “Go Dad” or “Run Mom Run!” Smiles and laughter fill the air. You can literally feel the joy run through your body. No one has a fear of one another nor does anyone expect anything to go wrong. But that all changed on April 15, 2013.

As I was standing in the grocery store in Franklin trying to decide what the difference was between Fuji and Gala apples, my loud and annoying phone buzzed in my jean pocket. With one apple in hand and trying to unlock my phone in the other, I noticed that I had a text from my boyfriend, Andrew. “I’m not by the explosions, don’t worry.” My face crinkled with confusion not knowing what this text message meant. I decided to ignore the text for the moment and finish my quest of grocery shopping. As I went through the aisles, I could not stop thinking about that text message. I hurried to get out of Stop and Shop. I quickly rang myself out at the self-checkout, and jogged to my yellow Volkswagen Beetle in the parking lot and drove home attempting to obey the speed limit. As soon as I walked through my front door, my phone rang. It was Andrew. Without hesitating, I picked up the phone and asked what happened. Out of breath, he replied, “There were two explosions at the marathon. I was standing right near one, and missed it by about five minutes. I’m okay, but I need to make more calls. Turn on the news and I’ll talk to you later. Love you.”  I was in such a state of shock that I didn’t even realize I was still holding my iPhone to my ear after he hung up. So many thoughts and questions were racing so fast through my mind that I couldn’t keep up. I just didn’t understand.

A total of two bombs exploded during the Boston Marathon. They both exploded near the finish line where many supporters were standing. The bombs exploded around the average time when most marathon runners would be finishing, which was a little bit more than four hours into the race.

But Boston was anything but defeated. Instead, Bostonians triumphed over tragedy. And it wasn’t just Bostonians. The world joined Boston and together all of us created a team: a team filled with courage, unity, and love. This team manifested itself in words on posters, the words of songs, hashtags, and speeches. And what powerful words they are, more powerful than any explosion.

The posters supporting Boston after the tragedy range from a tiny piece of paper that someone is holding at a sports game to an electronic display above the entrance to Yankee Stadium. Even though the posters differ in size and quality, they all have the same message: Boston is not alone. The words on the posters are extremely powerful and touching. For example, at a Yankees game very recently, people held signs saying, “Pray for Boston” or “NY loves Boston.” It’s incredible how two well-known enemies put aside their baseball differences to come together as one. Also, it’s just a great feeling to know that two enemies can come together and be allies. At a time like this, words mean everything to everyone.

In my opinion, the lyrics in a song mean anything and everything. That is what gives the song meaning. Lyrics have the power and ability to relate to so many people. I personally love listening to the lyrics because they have a power to change my emotions and really inspire me. After the Boston Marathon bombings, not only did the whole Yankee stadium show their loving support, but during the 7^th inning stretch the played the song “Sweet Caroline” by Neil Diamond. That was a really touching moment for Bostonians because “Sweet Caroline” is played at every Red Sox game. When the song is played, it really brings the whole stadium together. The most moving lyrics in the whole song are: “Hands touching hands/Reaching out/Touching me, touching you.” When everyone was singing along to that song in Yankees Stadium, it meant New York is extending their hands out to help support Boston and do whatever they can do help the city recover from this horrible tragedy.

Even though it’s a social media website, Twitter also extended their hands out to support Boston. On the day of the bombings, everyone tweeted “#PrayForBoston.” Believe it or not, a hashtag can go a long way, especially in a world full of teenagers. Within an hour of the explosions, “#PrayForBoston” was the number one trending topic on twitter. Tweets were composed all around the United States using that one hashtag and it brought the United States closer. Those three words attached to a hashtag ruled the Twitter world for over three days.

The day of the bombing, President Barack Obama made a nation wide speech. Of course he stated how security is going to increase in the United States and was trying his best to answer questions. However, a few words of his speech were the most powerful and moving. "Boston is a tough and resilient town," Obama continued. "So are its people. I am supremely confident that Bostonians will pull together, take care of each other & move forward -- as one proud city." And that is just what Boston did. The city pulled together as one and not only listened to Obama’s words, but also used them in action.

All of these words used in different forms showed that no one is going to take our Boston pride away from us. With help from around the world, Boston is now more confident as ever. All of this shows that good overcomes evil. Even though I am from Franklin, I consider myself a true Bostonian. “There’s strong, but then there’s Boston strong.”

I got this photo from here!