Monday was the 10th anniversary of the Columbine shootings. I was a senior in high school when it happened and, incidentally, a faithful subscriber to Time magazine. A week or so after the shootings, I received my issue of Time and came across this column on the back page.

I wanted to share it with you because in this age of get-the-news-out-as-quickly-as-possible writing, there are still some masterful examples of good writing out there, and this column remains one of the best pieces I’ve ever read. When it came out, I was getting ready to go to college and was registered as a chemistry major with pre-med intentions. A short while later, I changed my major to journalism and never looked back. I’m not kidding when I say that I was incredibly inspired to do so by Roger Rosenblatt’s piece. I thought of it every time I tackled a feature article, and I shared it in my senior-year column writing class with my fellow classmates.

I admit that a big reason I love this column so much was that I was the same age as Rachel Scott. She would have graduated that year, just like me. She was a writer, like me, and we both had younger brothers. I felt a deep, personal connection to her and to the shootings. Maybe you won’t be as touched as I was, but I hope you can still appreciate it. Let me know what you think.