April 15, 2013. A day where thousands upon thousands of people gathered for one goal; to run a marathon. Some people chose to run to support and raise money for a special cause, others chose to run just to run a marathon. Whatever the reason may be, these people were incredibly brave for getting up to run 26 miles, while thousands of people eagerly cheered them on.

These people did not realize that their entire lives would be on the line this day. Some people would lose the lives of loved ones, and some lost their own lives. Two monsters were among the crowd, with the sickening motive to destroy and murder.

This attack certainly threw the city of Boston into a state of uneasiness. I watched the marathon in person for the first time in 2017, and I was beyond nervous. I genuinely wondered if I was safe, and rejoiced at the end of the night as I returned to my dorm room that I was blessed enough to be going to sleep in my bed another night. The damage done to the individuals in this city is absolutely horrible.

But, we are still fighting. We have, as a city, become closer than ever. We are looking out for each other more than ever. We are coming together to rebuild the city that has been attempted to be destroyed. And are already so much stronger. We are growing immensely. We are rebuilding our city, ourselves, and our community. We are bonded together through such a tragedy.

While these individuals tried to tear us apart and shake everything we've loved about the city, we've stuck together and stayed strong. We are, by far, one of the most incredible cities in the world, and not a single person can take that away from us. Strong is an understatement for what our city is.

We are incredible. Absolutely incredible. I will bring absolutely no attention to who the individual terrorists were in this incident because they deserve no attention. However, I will bring attention to the brave police officers, spectators, and EMT's on the scene, who were there to save the lives of those who may have otherwise lost their lives that day.

I would like to recognize the people who are brave enough to run the marathon, years to come after this attack. I am nervous being a spectator, and I commend you highly for having the strength and courage to run the course, knowing what could happen in an instant.

We have kept the tradition of the annual Boston marathon going, and we have bravely kept our community together. Boston is one of the most amazing cities I have ever stepped foot into, and I will forever be proud to call this my place.