Fearless

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Title

Fearless

Catalog Entry

The Boston Marathon bombing was one of the most traumatic events for our state. Especially if you were there the memories may scar you forever. It may not have been the main motive, but one motive for the bombings was to scare us. The terrorists wanted to make us fear them, but we wouldn’t let that happen. It is a horrible act to inflict on anyone and to do it at a happy and joyful event hurts a lot.

A moment that inspired many was David Ortiz when he spoke at a Red Sox game. Ortiz stepped out there as a Bostonian and a leader. He told everyone “This is our (blank) city!” letting everyone know not to be fearful. I can say from my perspective that, seeing this from a well-known Boston athlete that I myself idolized, made me feel a lot better. I will admit after the bombing I as well as many others were in fear. Many people wondered where the bombers could be and what they might do next. It was a hard time, but with the help of others we became fearless and stronger together. The speech was very small. Ortiz said later that it wasn’t planned and came rolling off his tongue. Yet this speech hit so many people in such a positive way, giving them comfort in a tough situation.

Another example of fearlessness among Bostonians is Rebekah Gregory. Gregory is a Boston Marathon bombing survivor and lost a leg in the blast. It caused her to change her life and how she functioned. Being in such a traumatic event and losing your leg because of it could cause so much fear and PTSD. Even with the harsh memories of the day and the permanent memory of that event with her missing leg, she decided to go back and participate in the race two years after. To be able to do something like this is very empowering. To go back to the place that changed your life forever and scared you is hard. She did not only just go back, but she completed the whole race. From start to finish, she ran through the race. In order to do this race she had to train to get used to running with her new leg. Doing this showed how fearless she was. The very same event that flipped her life forever, she went back to without fear and finished it. There were some others just like Gregory that showed strength and fearlessness. Patrick Downes and Adrianne Haslet were two of the other survivors that ran in the race again. It takes a lot to step back out there. 

There are many stories about people who have been resilient in their recovery and fearless along the way. One person is Sydney Corcoran. Sydney was another survivor from the Marathon bombings that showed a lot of perserversance through her recovery. In an article published by Global News, they had survivors return to the finish line to see their reaction and how they felt. Sydney said her message was “You Can Scare Me, But You Cannot Stop Me” (“Boston Marathon Bombing Survivors Share Stories in Powerful Photo Series.”). I think this shows a great example of how she was strong and fearless. As said earlier this event has the ability to scar you, but she said she won't let it stop her. These are just more and more examples of people showing Boston Strong, and showing that we continue to live our lives freely without fear.

I also didn’t let it affect my life either. It was a scary time after the bombing because no one knew where the bombers were. The bombing took enough away from many people’s lives. My family and I went out to Skyzone, which is a trampoline park in Hyde Park a couple of days after the bombing. On our way over we listened to updates on the search. It felt weird because we didn’t know where the bombers could be, but we wanted to live our lives and have fun. The point of going wasn’t to be reckless or a rebel because many were told to stay inside. It was because we believed that we should not fear them. The point of the attack was to push fear onto us and make us scared to go out. I didn’t want them to win, nor did I want them to think they have power over us. As David Ortiz said, “This is our city,” and no one will take that away from us.

Bibliography

“Boston Marathon Bombing Survivors Share Stories in Powerful Photo Series.” Global News, 2014,
globalnews.ca/news/1269108/boston-marathon-bombing-survivors-share-stories-in-powerf ul-portrait-series/amp/.

Catalog Entry Author(s)

Harold Peterson, Student, Fitchburg State University

ALFA Mentor

Bill Ayadi

Citation

“Fearless,” Cultural Heritage through Image, accessed March 28, 2024, https://culturalheritagethroughimage.omeka.net/items/show/166.

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