Jan. 30 began like any other day at 240 E. State St. The two of us and our three roommates woke up in the same beds we had slept in for nearly two years, went about our morning routines and left the house expecting to be back that night to celebrate one of the last weekends of our senior year.
But by 6 p.m., the five of us were gathered in our neighbors' living room watching fire departments from across the region fight a blaze engulfing our house. In a matter of minutes and at no fault of our own, the home we built and shared during our upperclassman years was rendered uninhabitable. We also lost Mavis, our beloved housecat and softest member of our home.
Almost as quickly as the fire caught, the people of Athens jumped to our aid. Our neighbors showed the first act of kindness by offering their home as our refuge while the fire burned. In the hours that followed, friends, acquaintances and perfect strangers reached out to offer spare rooms, clothes, toiletries and more kinds of support than we could name.
Our parents came to us immediately to hold us through the grief. They leaped in without hesitation to shoulder the burden of our daily needs while we focused on making it through the first few days.
Two fellow students – our friends who knew and loved our home – organized a GoFundMe to help us rebuild, which garnered dozens of donations by the end of the night and nearly 650 donations from people across Athens and our hometowns by the end of two weeks. Ohio University faculty and staff provided needed guidance and rallied at our side.
Each of us came to know Athens as a warm and communal town during our time as students, but the support we were shown during this unexplainably frightening time was unlike anything we could have expected. The five of us are deeply humbled by the kindness we have been shown and even more grateful to have the support of Athens behind us while we navigate this unfathomable situation.
Our hearts are forever in Athens and forever at 240 E. State St., and there aren’t sufficient words to adequately express our thanks.
With the most heartfelt gratitude,
Sophia, Alexandra, Grace, Noa and Sofie
Sophia Rooksberry and Alexandra Hopkins are seniors studying journalism at Ohio University. Please note the views expressed in this column do not reflect those of The Post. Have a comment? Reach them at sr320421@ohio.edu and ah875121@ohio.edu.
