Sorry this is a day late! This week was a little busier than usual.

Anyway, on Monday I saw After the Fire at Pruis with some of my friends. This event was part of the Excellence in Leadership program, though all Ball State students were allowed to attend. After the Fire is a documentary about a residence hall fire that happened at a college in New Jersey in 2000. It focuses on the recovery of two students who were severely burned in the fire and the prosecution of the people who started the fire.

This was an excellent documentary; I felt very emotional while watching it, and at several points my eyes were filled with tears. The two men who were injured in the fire were actually there to present the movie and answer questions from people in the audience. It was fantastic to be able to hear their thoughts and opinions beyond what was presented in the documentary.

The only problem I had with the event was that it made me afraid that my residence hall was going to burn down! When I came back to my room, all I could think about was how horrible it would be if a serious fire started and nobody could escape. But there are a lot of safety measures in place to reduce the chances of that happening. The residence halls hold fire drills, and there are policies that prohibit the use of objects that could start fires, such as candles and space heaters.

I think the most important thing about fire safety is that you should never ignore a fire alarm. Even if it’s the tenth time the fire alarm has gone off in a month, you should leave the building right away. Fires really don’t happen often, but it’s a good idea to be prepared.

I highly recommend this documentary; if movies aren’t your thing, there’s a book about the fire as well. It’s also called After the Fire.

In other news, I was accepted to my study abroad program! Now I have to fill out all sorts of paperwork, but I’m one step closer to going to Dublin. This is so exciting! :)