Over the course of the past week, the world got put on hold to express its sympathies and respects for those affected by the tragedies in New York, Washington, D.C. and Pennsylvania last Tuesday. We prayed for the victims and their families, lit candles in their honor, donated blood and hung American flags all across campus. I even saw a picture Monday in USA Today of a woman, undeterred by stores that had run out of flags, ribbons and other patriotic symbols, who took the next logical step and repainted the front of her house to look like the American flag.

The past few days have tested our emotions, our thoughts, and our patriotism.

I'm proud to say we passed these tests with flying colors.

Never before have I seen such an outpouring of support for those who so desperately needed it. Attendance at churches across the country Sunday rivaled attendance at churches on Christmas. Donations are flying in from all around the world, and every website I see has some sort of solicitation to donate to the American Red Cross or another charitable organization. Heck, even Scrooge himself, Bill Gates, decided to donate to the cause.

This nation was called to action by a group of terrorists, and we responded tremendously, whether it was emotionally or financially.

However, as President Bush has asked us all, we need to move on.

It is obviously very easy to get caught up in speculation as to what will happen next in this story. But I think for most of us it's time to step back and resume our normal lives.

The stock market reopened Monday, television networks are resuming their normal schedules, Major League Baseball resumed its schedule last night, and other national and campus sports, if they aren't already, will also soon be in full swing.

I'm sure each sporting event in the near future will have some sort of recognition of those who perished in Tuesday's attacks. And I think that's the right way to go — moving on with our lives, but still acknowledging this event as an indelible part of our recent history.

We will move on from this. Of course, we have to move on from this. I know this doesn't give much consolation to the families and loved ones of those still missing, but it will get better. The ubiquitous news reports from the World Trade Center and Pentagon will subside, American flags will be raised from half-staff to its full height, and — eventually — we can all ride on airplanes without getting an eerie suspicion of the people sitting around us.

It's been a stressful week for the entire world. In my opinion, we as a campus have done all we can do for the time being. And I think we should all do our nerves a favor and relax a little. Watch your favorite sitcom tonight. Go and see a movie. Play some video games, even more than before. Go back and do whatever it was you were doing on last Monday, before the course of all of our lives were changed forever. After all that we've been through, I think it's the least we can do to reward ourselves for a week of proving who we really are as a nation.

• Getting back to normal