Popcorn and Coke

I know I said I wouldn't post until after the bar exam, but sometimes life hands you moments of intense perspective-shifting, and I want to be able to capture the sentiment while it is happening organically.

One of the things I love most about our society is just how hyped we get about the movies. You know, Batman has been a huge part of the American culture for decades. Little boys everywhere have dreamt of being a superhero like that. We are fascinated by good versus evil, justice and rough-justice. When The Dark Knight came out, we all marveled at the genius that was Heath Leger in the wake of his tragic passing. We saw what it meant for a struggling actor to pour himself mind, body, and soul into a character that will go down in history as one of the very best. It's been a couple of years now, and America has geared up for The Dark Knight Rises. People gathered in different cities to see midnight showings. Maybe it took a healthy dose of popcorn and coke, but tons of people sacrificed sleep to be a part of the Batman experience.

So, by now, you know where I am going with this. A man, for whatever reason, opened fire at the movie theatre, killing some, and wounding many more. While I am always interested in what possesses a man to do something like this, my mind is stuck on the horror these victims have experienced. My mind is on the victim's parents who typically take comfort that the movies are a safe place for their sons or daughters. Odds are that you will not be a victim of a massacre when you go to the movies. That's what makes this a compelling story. What are the odds? The fact is that tragedy can strike in any setting brought on by a variety of stimuli.

What do I take away from this? Well, friends, you don't know when your time is up. You can get a disease, and survive it. You can get a disease, and it gets you. You can get a disease like mine, and live alongside it. You can get into a car accident. You can mix the wrong medicine, like Heath Leger. You call fall victim to addiction, like Whitney Houston. You can be going to the movies with your popcorn and coke when someone opens fire.

With all the stress of the looming bar exam and a daily grind-out with Diabetes, it benefits me to step aside for a moment and soak in the enormity of the situation. I am but one person in this big, bad world. I have a crummy, but manageable disease. In the past few months, my universe has felt so small and self-centered. You know, as though I am the only one in the world who has ever had to study for the big test. It's sad, really.

While I never wish tragedy on anyone, it has served an important purpose for me. It has allowed me to zoom out and see the world on a human-scale, rather than just a Jordan-scale. It has reminded me that there is much more to life than tests and test-induced anxiety. I have treated all of this studying as though it is the bain of my existence, but what a privilege it is to wake up, breathe in the air, make your cup of coffee, and learn subjects to prepare you for a test for which you have earned the right to sit.

It's all about perspective. My heart goes out to the victims in Aurora, CO, who were just trying to go to the movies. My heart goes out to the suspect's family who are trying to understand. I hope we can all realize that there is a lot going on beyond the blinders of our own daily struggles.