There is no such thing as invincible
Laura Luettger
Issue date: 5/6/09 Section: Campus Talk
Invincible is a strong word. Stronger than love, hate, war or peace. Invincible is never-ending.
This is the one thing I've learned at Brockport that will never change. It cannot be altered by new studies, but shaped by our own experiences.
Perhaps the word is so strong because it doesn't really exist. Something that does not exist cannot be disproved. Love, hate, war and peace can all end. But invincible is something that has never existed.
It has taken me a long time to write this column, but as I wrap up my four years at college, it only seems appropriate to take the time to share the most important lesson I have learned: Nothing and no one is invincible, and your perceptions of people can change in an instant.
In high school, there is a mentality that everyone is invincible. When my friends and I all got our licenses, it's what we felt. We finally had control over our lives, and we were invincible.
It wasn't until my junior year here that this image came crashing down. In high school, I was lucky. Life seemed to be following its natural order. I had lost people in my life, many of whom were family. While it was difficult, I was able to cope because these people were much older. Many were sick, and I felt some sort of closure because in the back of my mind, their deaths were inevitable.
Last November is when this all changed. One of my closest friends from high school was killed in a car accident on her way to school. She was three years younger than me, and at times, she seemed like a younger sister.
There is nothing in the world that could prepare you to receive a phone call like that. Not only was it the first time I recognized someone my age could have their life taken so unexpectedly, but it showed me another side of my parents, and brought me closer to them. I never expected to feel like such a child at my oh-so-mature 20 years of age, but I did. But I also felt as if I aged 10 years in the span of one week.
This is the one thing I've learned at Brockport that will never change. It cannot be altered by new studies, but shaped by our own experiences.
Perhaps the word is so strong because it doesn't really exist. Something that does not exist cannot be disproved. Love, hate, war and peace can all end. But invincible is something that has never existed.
It has taken me a long time to write this column, but as I wrap up my four years at college, it only seems appropriate to take the time to share the most important lesson I have learned: Nothing and no one is invincible, and your perceptions of people can change in an instant.
In high school, there is a mentality that everyone is invincible. When my friends and I all got our licenses, it's what we felt. We finally had control over our lives, and we were invincible.
It wasn't until my junior year here that this image came crashing down. In high school, I was lucky. Life seemed to be following its natural order. I had lost people in my life, many of whom were family. While it was difficult, I was able to cope because these people were much older. Many were sick, and I felt some sort of closure because in the back of my mind, their deaths were inevitable.
Last November is when this all changed. One of my closest friends from high school was killed in a car accident on her way to school. She was three years younger than me, and at times, she seemed like a younger sister.
There is nothing in the world that could prepare you to receive a phone call like that. Not only was it the first time I recognized someone my age could have their life taken so unexpectedly, but it showed me another side of my parents, and brought me closer to them. I never expected to feel like such a child at my oh-so-mature 20 years of age, but I did. But I also felt as if I aged 10 years in the span of one week.
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