There is no one way to heal from the events of Feb. 13 at Michigan State University. For some it may mean immediate emotions, and for others it may be a complete shutdown of emotions until it all spills over and hits all at once.
The second one was the case for myself, and it almost feels selfish that I felt this way while knowing one of my close friends was trapped in a building during the event. However, there is no right way to feel, and everyone handles it the way they do depending on their own life experiences and traumas that they dealt with.
Sara Omar was one of the individuals who was trapped inside the STEM building on campus. For her, there was no choice but to feel immediate emotions, as she was inside the building until 1:30 a.m. and had no idea of what was to come.
“I can’t answer… I think there is someone here… Someone is at the door, it isn’t cops,” Omar said, referring to the misinformation that there were multiple shooters, which led to panic across the entire campus.
“The cops on the phone said don’t let them in”
Omar, a senior studying journalism at Michigan State, was at a regular meeting for the Arab Culture Society performing her duties as a board member.
“I was just glad I was with all of my siblings, and if anything were to happen I would be with them.”
There were some who were front and center to the horrible events that occurred that night, and some that were away from it, but still close enough to hear all of the noise.
“The cops kept passing by, it was siren after siren,” Jirjees said.
Rani Jirjees, a senior at Michigan State, was at his apartment off of Grand River road, which was still very close to the events but not quite on campus.
“It didn’t feel real at first, but as time went on I knew that this was very serious.”
The event wasn’t only felt by students, but from those in other cities too. Especially those who had friends that attend Michigan State University.
“Having friends at Michigan State made me feel worried, and I’m a little scared to come to this school now,” Gonzales said.
Isabella Gonzales is a soon to be transfer student, and has lost a little bit of the excitement she once had to come to the university.
“I was worried, my friend wasn’t answering me and all I could hear of was misinformation after misinformation.”
Each experience led to a different response in the events of Feb. 13, and each emotional response is appropriate as there is no one way to heal.