A plea for a safe return...
The last gift my mother ever bought me before she died was a video camera. Capturing the events, telling stories, entertaining people, creating things; this is what I wanted out of life. As I grew up, I did nerdy stuff. I attended video camps; learned how to use television equipment; wrote in journals. I went to college to be a Sports writer. While most kids’ first trip anywhere in college was a party or a fraternity house, mine was to the College Newspaper. My entire college experience, the thing that shaped the person I am came from working at the Massachusetts Daily Collegian. I loved my life there. I made tremendous friends. I challenged myself. I discovered my talents. I learned how to utilize my strengths and how to cope with my weaknesses.
For years and years of my life I strived to be a journalist. I had it in my blood. My grandfather used to tell me that I was, “Living out his dream,” as he had the same type of college experience at Boston University as I did at Umass. Eventually that went away. Sort of, anyway. I tried the Journalist lifestyle for a fleeting moment. I lasted exactly 2 months and 3 days at it. Low pay, shameless jobs writing about Johnny hitting home runs in little league, ridiculous hours just didn’t cut the mustard for me. And I gave up on everything I wanted for the majority of my life. But I know it never really goes away completely.
For some, that passion never disappears. Some don’t care about the long hours or the shameless stories. I hadn’t heard sight nor sound of Jill Carroll, a former colleague of mine at the Collegian in nearly four years.
Then I hear this news…
First, I hope to God she’s safe. Second, I hope to God she’s safe. What really moves me in a very particular way, is the thought of how deeply connected I feel I am to her in her position. Jill is a journalist; a damn fine one at that. I remember her editorials. She was intelligent and funny. I spent four years having people saying, “Hey Ryan, I read your stuff. You’re a really good writer.” With Jill Carroll I could say the same to and honestly mean it. I haven’t felt right all day since hearing this news. There’s a wealth of emotions channeling through my body. I’m scared. I’m angry. I’m speechless, yet desperate to plead to anyone who will listen that I would give anything to help her get out of that position.
But what hits the hardest and closest for me is that Jill was targeted for being a journalist. She was targeted because she has the same passion pumping through her veins that I do. She loves to capture events. She loves to tell stories. She loves to entertain people. She loves to create things.
Let her go. Let her continue to use her talents to bring wholesomeness to the world.
“The opposite of love is not hate. It’s indifference. The opposite of art is not ugliness. It’s indifference. The opposite of faith is not heresy. It’s indifference. And the opposite of life is not death. It’s indifference” - Elie Wiesel