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" Last week was one of the most terrifying weeks for us here in Boston andCambridge. With the Boston Marathon bombings and subsequent shooting at MIT, everyone was fearful of the unexpected terror that had struck acity that&amp;#039;s normally so vibrant and safe. Streets that were usually filled with workers and students were deserted. Public transportation was shut down. I&amp;#039;ve never seen Harvard Square so empty. Last Monday, I was doing homework in my room when I got a Twitter notification that there had been two bombings at the Boston Marathon. I couldn&amp;#039;t comprehend the terrorism that had struck-it never seems real until it happens somewhere too close for comfort. I felt paralyzed when I realized that the bombs went off near the route I travel almost every Friday to volunteer at a hospital in the city. One of the people who was killed because of the bombings was a former Harvard employee, so our campus was directly affected by the tragedy. That night, we had a candlelight vigil outside Memorial Church for the bombing victims, their families, and the whole city of Boston. The following Friday, there was a shooting at MIT, about 10 minutes awayfrom my campus. The next morning, Harvard students received a flood of e-mails warning us to stay in our dorms because of a school lockdown. The campus and city police were on close guard and everyone in the city was encouraged to stay indoors until the shooter had been caught. Watertown, the city where the police had cornered the suspect, is the next town over from Cambridge. Even thoughHarvard was in the middle of one of the most frightening weeks in Boston, we were thankfully left unharmed. While we are blessed that our city and campus is no longer under immediate threat, the MIT police officer who was killed in thecourse of Friday&amp;#039;s events remains in our thoughts and prayers. If there&amp;#039;s anything I realized from these tragic events, it&amp;#039;s how susceptible all of us are to terror, no matter how sheltered we think we may be. Such tragedies seem so foreign until they happen in your own backyard. In response to the terror that had stirred Boston last week, I realized how resilient the city is-the quick police and emergency medical responses to the tragedy, the brave determination of Boston&amp;#039;s law enforcement, and the unity that resulted amongst citizens in the aftermath. I&amp;#039;m also thankful for the Harvard community, which ensured that student safety was their priority and provided mental health resources to help students cope. And above all, I am thankful for the city of Boston, for helping me realize that I am forever part of a unified community that has become my home away from home. &amp;quot;Darkness cannot drive out darkness. Only light can do that.&amp;quot; "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.seventeen.com/life/school/advice/a20654/harvard-student-at-boston-marathon-explosions/>