I find myself in a safe little bubble.
I am that girl who is paranoid about safety; I constantly watch my back, hold my cell phone close and lock my car as soon as I get in. But that’s just the way it goes for me. My dad taught me well, I suppose.
I was too obsessed with CSI: Crime Scene Investigation over the years to take safety lightly now. I’ve seen far too many scenes in which creepy men sneak out of the shadows in parking garages and attack the girl walking alone.
So now I always park in an open lot, and I always have someone accompany me. Learn from other’s mistakes, they always say.
I am so fortunate that my safety has never been threatened by something serious, but some people are not so lucky. Perhaps it is just a wrong place, wrong time situation, or maybe there were mistakes made. Either way, safety is not, and never will be, a joke.
College safety is a very serious thing to me. It is my first time living on my own, officially, without my parents nearby. I can no longer call them to pick me up when I need a ride, or save me from whatever creeps out of dark and scary places.
There are tips my parents frequently remind me: don’t ever walk anywhere by yourself.
Don’t ever leave your dorm room unlocked.
Don’t ever get in a car with a driver who has been drinking. I have successfully avoided all of these things since I have been here.
I want a place that I feel safe, and I believe I have found it at Mississippi State.
There is something so relieving about knowing there is a policeman I can call to pick me up whenever I feel the need. I also feel more comfortable when I see the poles with blue lights, knowing in an emergency, that is where I should go. The color blue now seems to scream safety.
However, I know there are certain situations where I would not be able to protect myself.
I decided to research college shootings: University of Texas, University of Iowa, San Diego State, University of Arkansas, University of Arizona and Virginia Tech.
They have all been hit. In recent news, a gunman opened fire at Seton Hall University in New Jersey.
I realize, even if some of the students might be as paranoid about safety as I am, they could not predict that something like this would happen. I reflect on how anyone could have prevented this. I discover that I cannot possibly protect myself from some things in this world.
Four individuals were injured in the Seton Hall shooting, and one student was killed.
As other students were pushing each other out of the way to run from the shooter, a young woman stayed behind to help a friend who had been injured. In this valiant and noble act, the honor student was killed.
I would like to believe I would save any of my friends from a bullet; I’d like to believe I would try to help even a stranger if they were injured.
But I never truly know what I would do until I am in that situation. I’m not quite sure who would even take a bullet for me. I hope I never have to find out.
What did these people do to deserve this? Why did this shooter release his anger on these innocent people?
I would not wish something like this even on my worst enemy. I would not wish this on a rival school. I would not wish this on anyone.
After all this research, I get the urge to pray. Everything seems to feel safer with a prayer.
My father always says, “Becca, everything will work out for you when you are right with God.”
Does that mean that the people who were in this situation were not right with God? I don’t believe that’s true. I do believe I feel safer in my heart when I know that God is around.
I’ve come to realize that the safer I feel, the bigger my bubble seems to expand.
Becca Horton is a freshman majoring in communication. She can be contacted at
[email protected].