The news of VA Tech student Morgan Harrington’s remains being found last week hit me profoundly on a personal level. You will recall that Morgan Harrington went missing Oct. 13 after she attended a Metallica concert in Charlottesville with friends and wound up outside of the arena without her ticket or car keys. She called her friends and said she would find her own way home - that was the last anyone heard from her.
When I first heard that she was missing I thought about how easily that could have been me when I was in college.Not only am I a Virginia Tech graduate but I can remember that when I was a college student I often threw caution to the wind.The college campus always made me feel so safe.I felt so safe in fact that when I was off campus, I didn’t remember to increase my vigilance.I didn’t think about safety precautions or even remember basic guidelines.As a young adult I felt invincible and inherently trusting.I remembered piling into a car with other students, some I knew and some I didn’t, going to concerts and events in neighboring cities and sometimes across state lines.I could easily see how Morgan’s situation could have been a reality for me or my friends at that time.
I also thought about how strange it was that my Mother, a former juvenile corrections officer, stopped talking to me about safety precautions when I went away to college.If only she had known the risks I took, she would have continued to have those conversations that became fewer and far between in the years between high school and college.Maybe those discussions would have deterred me from doing some things but probably wouldn’t have stopped me from doing others.But this line of thought made me ask a question:Why don’t we continue to talk safety continuously to our loved ones?
As a teen and young adult I received more freedom with each growing year.The same is true for today’s teens and young adults.They report that as they grow older their parents do not talk about things like internet safety and tend to stop setting guidelines for their behavior.It seems to me that with more freedom to act on their own, we should look to have more consistent conversations about the personal responsibility that comes attached to this new-found freedom.
By nature of her job and the job that many of our readers do each day, my Mother knew the pitfalls and ills of the world were out there.Why didn’t she think I still needed those helpful reminders to stay safe?Is my experience isolated or do you think this situation is true of most families with older teens and young adults?<
If I’m not alone out there I encourage you to talk to your family members and loved ones about personal safety every so often.Share some tips from NCPC’s personal safety brochures.
If someone tries to rob you, give up your property—don’t give up your life.
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