The Dark Night.

Last night, as my best friend and I headed toward the theater to see the movie event of the summer, I planned out everything perfectly. Kendall had waited for this movie for months, and while he sat in line for us I surprised him with a Batman t-shirt and Chipotle for dinner. We sat in line and in the theater, watching people walk by in costume, one eerily dressed as Bane, all the while excited for what we knew would be an epic fiction adventure.

But for some people last night, the horror became a reality, as fiction became a real life nightmare before their eyes.

At first, I had everything planned out. Take pictures of Kendall and I at the theater, take pictures of Katie and I, take a picture of the ticket stub, blog epic movie fun, the end. But life has a strange way of turning itself around on you. The man I mentioned before, dressed as Bane, gave me a sick feeling in my stomach, and all through the movie I was irrationally worried that something bad, a Bane-like nightmare, might happen in the theater. Little did I know that hours away that was truly unfolding.

The mass murder in Aurora, Colorado has been on my mind all day. I can't seem to shake the sorrow I feel for all the families and community members affected by this tragedy. This has been the largest mass murder in the history of our country, and I would feel awful if I didn't do all I could to help. All I can do now is pray, pray, pray. All I can do is hope that people look at this tragedy, the message it sent, and know to continue to believe in what is right and what the Batman movies stand for.

This was truly a dark night in our history, and like the Batman, America will rise.