Dear Christina

this post is written by a good friend and brilliant woman.  She will be a regular contributor to Howling Girl.  In light of tragic circumstances, I don't think there has been a more important piece written.

Dear Christina Green,

Were it not for the tragic events in Tuscon last Saturday your name would not evoke such a strong response. I only know the vaguest details of your life: that you sang in choir at St. Odilia Roman Catholic Church, you were nine-years-old, and dreamed of becoming a veterinarian and attending a big school back east like New York University. I read you were an A student and were interested in politics.

Christina, I don’t know you, and devastatingly, I never will in this life, but you remind me a lot of me.

My favorite part of church has always been the singing. I always dreamed about attending NYU, tried to be an A student, and also am interested in politics. I got to attend grad school at NYU, although I studied Italian rather than veterinary science.

Christina, I can only imagine the great things you would have been capable of. But I take great solace and hope in your too-short biography and life. You truly seem like a young woman possessed of the knowledge that within her grasp is the ability to change the world.

The last thing I want to do is to make you into some sort of political symbol, but you give me great faith in the girls of this nation. I am sure that there are many girls that involve themselves in civic affairs and strive to participate in their communities and learn all they can that they may brighten their world. I don’t know all those girls’ names. But I know yours. I thank you for the passion you showed for life and learning and fervently pray for your family. You inspire me, and I hope to live my life more purposefully and with greater gratitude for you.

Sincerely,

Roni