My school community was turned upside down this past week due to a tragic accident involving several of our current students. Two students died and one student is in critical condition and still hospitalized after a week of surgeries. One student and the drivers of both vehicles involved were uninjured.

This kind of event makes us all slow down and reflect. We ask ourselves all kinds of “what ifs” and we replay many things and moments in our heads. I hope it makes me more compassionate and understanding of all of my students as well as others in general. The student who survived this horrible accident is actually one of my students. We are navigating this new terrain day by day, and I’m amazed by his courage.

I found the quote below stored in my Color Note app from few years ago this past weekend. These words really spoke to me on all kinds of emotional levels. I sincerely hope that perhaps you might find  these words as comforting as I have. Peace – b

“Breathe. You’re going to be okay. Breathe and remember that you’ve been in this place before. You’ve been this uncomfortable and anxious and scared, and you’ve survived. Breathe and know that you can survive this too. These feelings can’t break you. They’re painful and debilitating, but you can sit with them and eventually, they will pass. Maybe not immediately, but sometime soon, they are going to fade and when they do, you’ll look back at this moment and laugh for having doubted your resilience. I know it feels unbearable right now, but keep breathing, again and again. This will pass. I promise it will pass.” 

― Daniell Koepke