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I can't get my mind off of the events that occurred at The University of Texas on May 1st, 2017. There are multiple reports of different attacks on and around campus. Whether these attacks included a knife, gun or other weapon, it'll all unfold over the coming days. We will also continue to learn what the reasoning was behind these attacks. Some say it was a threat to Greek Life, police are reporting that it was mental illness, and many just believe that it was another MayDay movement. Regardless of all the above, there was an attack on a University that provided me a future and a small town that gave me a dream. Yesterday was a sad day!

Harrison Brown was a freshman at The University of Texas, straight out of Graham, Texas. Graham is home to the largest downtown square in America, but other than that, there is nothing large about it. Graham's population is a little over 8,000 people, give or take a few depending on the price of Oil. I can only remember the same feeling Harrison must have felt stepping onto campus in the heart of downtown Austin. Lots of excitement I'm sure, filled with fear of the uncertainty. I remember the feeling of moving into a dorm that could house over half of Graham. Those early days you felt very very small, but as time went on, you started to become independent and brave. Without a doubt, the feeling Harrison must have had was the optimism of a brighter future. The opportunity to make this world a better place, because as the famous saying goes at UT, "What starts here changes the world".

Well on May 1st, what started there was not given the opportunity to change the world. What started there had life taken away from him way too soon. Harrison Brown was one of the victims that was stabbed in the attack. Harrison Brown was also the victim that wound up losing his life.

When I originally heard the news that there were attacks to multiple students on campus, even one that took the life of a student, I was taken aback that this was occurring on the campus that I walked for four years. How could something like that happen? All I knew was that they were students. No names or faces associated. No thoughts were pursued about the families of the kids or even the hometowns that would mourn them. No, it was just another attack on humankind in a society that is becoming immune to these events.

Immune. That is the exact word to sum up society today. I don't think we have become complacent with these attacks. It is hard not to become immune to this type of news when every time you open up your iPhone or turn on the TV all you hear about is another shooting, another terrorist attack, another police encounter, another political protest gone south... and the list could go on and on. That is the world we live in. So, when news such as this breaks out, it is easy to quickly feel bad for the kids family and go on about your day. This is exactly what I did. Until I got the call from an old teacher of mine back in the little town of Graham. A call that still has me shaken. A call that informed me that not only has UT been attacked, but so has my hometown.

Tragedy is never as bad until it hits home. 9/11 is the best example. Once it impacts people in your own world, once it puts a face and a name and a story behind the life that was taken, then it becomes true tragedy.

Over the last 48 hours, I continue to find myself trying to make sense of this tragedy. How can one man knowingly take the life of an innocent man? Not only that, but take the life of a "good kid". A kid that had a bright future and truly would make the world a better place. The more I try to make sense of it all, the more I begin to question the bigger picture.

What I've learned during my short 25 years on this earth is that questioning "The Big Picture" never does you any good. Being a Believer, you must have faith. Faith is an action, and that action is believing in something that is not seen. I believe that Harrison was called home early. I believe that he was needed. I believe that his voice has been a great addition to the harmonization of the Angels.

You see, I'm not going to let the promise that was given to Harrison be a lie. The promise that what starts at the University of Texas changes the world. Because today, Harrison's legacy lives on. As we get ready to gather together around the UT tower tonight, in remembrance of Harrison Brown, I am once again reminded that this world is not our home. We weren't created for this world. We were created for something more, something beautiful and perfect. Just as the old Hymn goes:

This world is not my home I'm just a passing through
My treasures are laid up somewhere beyond the blue
The angels beckon me from heaven's open door
And I can't feel at home in this world anymore

So today, it is comforting to know that Harrison is finally home. Though he left a small town mourning and a University in shock, his legacy will always live on. For us still here, it is important to hear Harrison's words and live by them. "Never is there something to die for, but always is there something to live for" Live life to the fullest and love like crazy! And if I had a guess, if Harrison could contact us, he'd let us know that we aren't home yet. It only gets better!