One Million Bones

On April 16th an event was held in Gleeson Plaza. It was called "One Million Bones".

Although I consider myself an artistically challenged individual, and although at first I was worried that my resulting masterpiece would not be considered a "bone" and therefore be disqualified, as I began to mold my clay and be encouraged by those around me, my mind unconsciously pushed my worries aside and instead filled me with thinking thoughts. I began to wonder: whose bones? Kids, included? From what genocide? What about war? Who would it benefit? How many bones would be created? Will the money truly reach the cause? Whose foot am I molding? How much did it hurt? Will I ever understand? Why are people so selfish? Why are people so incomprehensible? Who gets to determine who lives, who doesn't, what type of revolution or attack, who gets to be killed? Why don't more students come to this event? They can't be too busy. Some probably don't know. Others simply don't care.

Hey, you, passerby, stop. Come! Build a bone. It won't take long. But it might consume your emotions. I promise you will be more aware. I don't promise you might not feel a little sad. Or even depressed. Just come. Be a little self-less. Be a little less ego-centric. No; your life isn't that hard. What you have to do right now isn't as important. It can wait. Just stop. Stop. Come back. Stop!! COME BACK!!!! 

But they didn't stop. They were too busy. They weren't curious enough. It didn't matter. They didn't care. Their lives are just too important. They were just too busy. 

Everyone is.

I uploaded my picture on Instagram. I hash tagged #onemillionbones #stopgenocide #stoptheviolence. I clicked on the #onemillionbones and was surprised to find so many pictures; so many shots; so many bones in different locations throughout the world. I felt special that my little child-sized foot might be able to unite along them. To add to that something bigger. 

I do hope there were more than one million bones. And I hope that more than 1 million people on this planet could have, for those few minutes, spent them recreating and imagining: one bone. Who did it belong to? Why did they lose it? Where are they now? Why?

- Valeria Vera