We Will Remember. Always Remember.

**note: feelings expressed here are my own and are in no way a reflection on OSU's feelings -- my own thoughts**

The fact that I am actually writing a blog like this just blows my mind right now. I never thought it would happen again.

This morning, I got a text message from a good friend who's an OSU grad. He asked if I'd heard about Coach Budke. With all the scandals going on in the NCAA right now, my mind thought for a split second that he might've gotten dinged for something, so I did an Internet search. Nothing came up. Then I went to NewsOK.com and was greeted with a breaking news headline that summed it all up: Coach Budke and Assistant Coach Miranda Serna were killed in a plane crash last night. I wanted to throw up when I read that.

How in the world does this happen to this university TWICE? We had to commemorate the 10-year anniversary of the men's basketball plane crash earlier this year, and that was hard enough. But to have to do this all over again...it's just unfathomable.

I know that today will hit some more than others, especially the families of those we lost, the girls they coached and the university staff who knew them best. But today, all of us are mourning. OSU is a big family, and we're a close one. When something like this happens, we have to bond together and vow to never forget the memories and spirits of those that we lost, whether we knew them well or just in passing. The fact that a plane crash has taken the lives of OSU people we love and know twice in a decade is just too weird to comprehend.

Today has been a sad, solemn day on campus. People have given each other looks of sadness when one person mentions something about the crash. I was at an event this morning, and I heard people whispering about it and shaking their heads, not believing this happened again. I watched the press conference where President Hargis nearly broke down at the microphone. I've read the articles, seen the Tweets and Facebook messages, gotten the texts and emails about it. There are no words to describe the incredible sense of loss that the OSU community as a whole feels right now - and I know it will take awhile for everything to get back to as normal as it possible can. I just hope that nothing like this ever, ever happens to this university ever again.

We Will Remember. Always Remember.