Ben DiGiulio got his “Boston Strong” tattoo to honor the victims of the Boston Marathon bombings. He was present at the attacks, and wanted to remember the amazing feeling of his city coming together as one big family after it was over.

DiGiulio, a junior history and political science major, described the day in April 2013 as one where everyone was smiling and enjoying the beautiful weather in the city — before things took a tragic turn.

“Patriots’ Day is the biggest day in Boston, it’s a day you grow up knowing. It’s Boston all day and everything shuts down and everyone goes into Boston to watch the marathon,” he said. “It’s supposed to be a happy day — then all of a sudden it wasn’t.”

DiGiulio heard the first bomb go off while walking away from the marathon. He said he and his friends were disoriented but once he heard the second bomb go off, he and his friends ran into a McDonalds with a slew of other people. There he saw a police officer with his radio on, and that’s when DiGiulio heard “bomb” and “everyone get inside.”

“After that I didn’t know what to do, I tried to stay composed but I couldn’t, I was shaking,” he said. “You couldn’t get in touch with your friends and family because all the lines were down. It was just terrifying because you just didn’t know what to do.”

The days after the attacks acted as a healing process, DiGiulio said. He said people were scared, but wanted to stay strong together to be supportive. The scariest part for him was not knowing who was responsible for the bombing.

Watching the city coming together was really inspiring to DiGiulio and his friends. He describes it as a great patriotic moment where “Boston Strong” went from being just a saying to something that stood for the community that came together in the wake of tragedy.

“As much as the tattoo is an honor to the three that lost their lives, it’s a camaraderie thing for me,” he said. “Boston strong was a mantra for the rest of the year, but it continued on so much longer than that. It brought a sense of comfort.”

With all the emotions DiGiulio and his city were going through, getting the tattoo only seemed right. He said it made him realize the bigger things in life, where things like his high school rivalry no longer mattered.

“It’s a reminder of where I come from, who I am as a person, who I will always be no matter where I go,” DiGiulio said. “It’s a reminder of strength too — if the victims and families who lost people or had people in the marathon, if they can get through what they got through, then what ever I come across in my life I can get through.”

Published on October 31, 2016 at 8:12 pm