Jessi Knew

Tonight I drank wine, ate 1/2 of a medium pizza and watched Honey Boo Boo child on TLC to preserve my brainpower for the weekend to come.

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Here’s what’s going down:

Friday 

8:00am - Movers arrive at my storage unit to move me into my new apartment off Washington. From there, I’ll move stuff until I can’t move no more! 

7:00pm - Head to the August HYPS Power Networking Mixer & Art Soiree at the CAMH. I’m attempting to become “good” at networking events. To be honest with you, these type of things me so nervous! Got networking tips? Seriously, send them to me.

Saturday

7:00am - Workout

9:00am - Taking a bus, yes a BUS, from Houston to Dallas. Yes, I’m insane, on a budget and I don’t really like driving. I wish daily that Houston had a subway system. I’d sell my car and never wipe the smile off my face.

My BFF, Kathleen, is picking me up at the bus stop in DFW. Pray for me, I’m sure this will be an adventure.

Sunday

7:00am - Run the “Hottest 1/2 Marathon” in Dallas. You know I love running, so of course I’m willing to ride a random bus for 4 hours to do it!

2:00pm - The adventure continues: I’m riding the bus back to H-Town.

Good news is: this week Thursday is my Friday AND I’m so excited about getting all moved into my new apartment. 

Stay tuned. 

J

As the news coverage continues about the tragedy that recently struck Aurora, Colorado, I can’t help but begin to wonder if people around the world are also asking the same questions I am:

• Who is this person?
• What was running through these innocent people’s minds?
• When did this person dream up this plan?
• Where did his life start to go wrong?
• Why would someone do something like this?
• How could a stranger take the lives of innocent movie attendees? 

It doesn’t matter if these questions have answers, because even an answer wouldn’t help them make sense. On 11:00am on Sunday, I walked into the Houston theatre where I had pre-purchased tickets to watch the Batman movie. As I moved closer to the screen from the entrance my thoughts drifted to the event that had occurred just 72 hours before in a similar setting. 

My parents began dropping my friends and I off at the movie theatre in 6th grade, how could something so innocent and familiar suddenly have such a dangerous tone? 

We had arrived early enough that we were able to pick the best seats in the house, right in the center, toward the top. As we waited for the movie to begin, thoughts I’d never felt before in a movie theatre began to run through my head. Should I sit closer to an entrance? If I needed to, where could I hide? Am I safe here? Everyone around me was suspect and any movement at the bottom of the theatre caught my attention.

A single incident hundreds of miles away can steal your joy and faith in humanity, if you let it. Shots heard within a Colorado theatre, can ring forever in ears around the world, if we let it. As I sat there, clutching my popcorn, I realized: I cannot let evil steal my comfort.

On life’s journey we will all encounter pain, suffering, and death, in some way, shape, or form. No one is safe from evil and it isn’t possible to constantly hide from the danger. What we can do is have faith, live every moment we’ve been given to the fullest, and look out for each other. We can remember the 12 who died in this tragedy today and live better because of their memory tomorrow.

As the lights dimmed, I sat the bottom of my popcorn bag in my lap, reclined in my seat, and enjoyed the movie. 

Jess