April 15, 2013

Monday April 15, 2013

I remember exactly what I was doing that day.

We had Monday off, as we always do. Patriots' Day. I was at school because I had a lot of work to do. I went with a friend to interview my former RA for a journalism project. I grabbed lunch at the dining hall. I went back to my room and made a list of all the homework I had to do. I still remember scrawling on the top of the paper, "Get stuff done now because this is going to be a hard week."

If only I had known just how hard it was going to be.

The notifications came in on Twitter, and I panicked. I was glued to my computer, refreshing CNN and the Boston Globe and the New York Times. I made frantic calls to my parents, my best friend, my brother. I paced around my room, texting my friends in Boston. I cried, and I refreshed the websites some more.

The thing is, I could have been there. I'd stayed at Boston College that weekend, and my friends wheedled and whined for me to stay and watch the marathon with them. As they walked me to my car, I noticed the barricades that were being set up for Monday's event. I pictured how the street would look on Monday, filled with kids in yellow and maroon shirts, cheering for the runners. I pictured how much fun it would be to be one of them. "No, I'm sorry, I can't," I said. I had to work on that project, and I couldn't let my partner down.

So I went back to school, and the next day everything changed.

Tuesday April 15, 2014

I am not the same person I was a year ago. I live in Paris now, albeit temporarily. Instead of being there to cheer the runners on, I am more than three thousand miles away. I spent the day much as I did last year, constantly refreshing feeds, reading the tributes my friends were posting and the articles written by journalists. I felt a little more alone than I did last year, by virtue of the fact that I am the only Bostonian in my program and probably the only one who spent all day thinking about the marathon. I remedied this by Skyping with my best friend, and it helped. It didn't help me from wishing that I could be home, though.

"One day, I will run the Boston Marathon, for them," I wrote in my journal this day last year. I didn't clarify who "them" was, but I didn't need to. "Them" was the victims: Martin Richard, Krystle Campbell, Lingzi Lu. The people whose names I didn't know but would soon come to learn through the media. "Them" was the people who lost legs, hearing, mobility, the dreams they had a year ago today.

A year later, I still have that goal. So I woke up at 7 am, laced up my shoes, and ran for two miles without stopping. I took a stretch break at the Eiffel Tower and then I ran back for another two miles. I thought about home the whole time, about how even with the beautiful views of the Seine, the Musee d'Orsay, the Pont de Alexandre III, my heart was at home in Boston.



53 weeks ago I was convinced I wanted to move to New York City. It turns out I was missing what was right in front of my eyes. The tragedy last year strengthened my love for Boston. It strengthened so many things: our resolve as a city, our desire to care for one another, our kindness to strangers. It proved just how strong we were when we needed to be. We were Boston Strong, and I absolutely cannot imagine living anywhere else.

Shaken & freaked out. Boston, I love you.
I tweeted this last year an hour after the bombs went off.

This year, I can confidently say that I have never been more proud to be a Bostonian.

Oui, Je Vis

Yes, I am alive! It has been so long since I wrote a post here. I never intended to go this long without writing, but it is a testament to how much I am enjoying my time here. But I knew it was time to get back on when my friend from home texted me and said "Not to sound like a mother, but are you ever gonna write another blog post?" Yes, yes I am.

This week in Paris has been absolutely beautiful. The weather is so gorgeous and it is so nice to walk around outside. The sun doesn't set until 8:30 pm so that makes me extremely happy. It gets darker about two hours later here than at home, and I wish I could have this much daylight forever.

Since I last wrote, I have:

• Been to Versailles
• Hung out with college friends who were visiting Paris
• Spent a weekend in London
• Turned 21
• Attended a French soccer football match
• Stayed with family in Dublin
• Picnicked on the Seine River
• Wine tasted (twice)
• Enjoyed the Louvre many times
• Visited Sacre Coeur Basilica a few times
• Visited Provence (Southern France)
• Eaten a lot of croissants
• Taken a million pictures

and a lot more! I am truly so happy. My next post is going to be about Versailles, so look out for that within the next few days :)

(The Eiffel Tower just turned 125 years old! Bonne Anniversaire!)