Boston, You’re My Home

It has been such a crazy week here in Boston, but I don’t think I have ever felt more like Boston is my home.

I’m from Western Mass originally, so when people would ask where I was from at school, Boston was never the answer. Then I went abroad, and Boston was my answer, because at least people knew where that was on a map (okay, they knew it was somewhere on the East Coast, near New York).

But being from Massachusetts, Boston is your home city, its where you dream of living, to someday say that’s where you’re from.

After living here the past two years, I’ve seen a lot of Boston pride. We love this city, even though the T stops at 12:30. Sure, the “Titletown” designation makes it easy to believe in Boston sports, but we also have some unbelievable history, some very opinionated people, and are quite known for being unwelcoming (only because we love Bostonians themselves so much).

But the last week I’ve seen a group of people come together and have faith in our town like I’ve never seen before. It was never a question of, “Do you think we’ll ever find who did this?” But only, “I bet they’ll find them soon.” Law enforcement officials were clearly invested in finding the people behind the Boston Marathon Bombings, and the people of the city of Boston were going to do everything they could to support them.

Thursday night, I couldn’t sleep, and obviously went on to Twitter. What I found was that the city of Watertown (probably about two miles from where I work) was where the two suspects had fled to. After that, there was no sleeping. I stayed up reading #Watertown tweets and listening to the Boston Police scanner, until I made myself sleep at 5:30 am. We all worked from home that next day, but really we were all listening in and seeing what was happening in Watertown. As did everyone in this city, I watched coverage all night and all day, and joined at one point 181,000 people listening in to the Boston Police Scanner, hoping for justice.

When that moment finally happened (of course I was in the bathroom) it was a huge sigh of relief. My city was safe again. I no longer lived in a Batman movie.

My words cannot express how much pride I have for this city and how much I will never be able to thank those who help to keep me safe here. Many people were worried about me, but I knew that if I stayed in my home and let law enforcement do their thing, everything would be okay.

My prayers continue to be with everyone affected, and there have been some truly selfless stories that I’ve heard which make me want to be a better person.

Sure I’ve contemplated living other places, but I must say, Boston you’re my home.

If you’re interested in finding ways to help, nearby or afar, a few links friends have shared:

One Heart Boston: Letterpress Print

One Heart Boston Print

Boston Strong T-Shirts Emerson students immediately created these t-shirts, all proceeds of which will go to the OneFund. Show your Boston pride and raise money for a great cause.

Bucks for Bauman: Go Fund Me site for Jeff Bauman who lost both of his legs in the bombing and who helped to identify the suspects responsible from his hospital bed. He doesn’t have health insurance.

Ann & Eric Whalley Recovery Fund: Give Forward site for Ann and Eric Whalley, North Andover residents both injured in Monday’s bombings.