As I was reading Shostakovich ‘s “The Nose” I couldn’t help but think of the men and women who return home from war injured or missing limbs. As the Opera portrayed Kovalyov’s struggle to regain his nose all I could think of was our soldiers struggle to reenter society. Our soldiers that return injured are sometimes treated poorly due to their lost limbs and unlike Kovalyov never reclaim their limbs that are lost. As Kovalyov “Nose” was playing tricks on him I was thinking of the Boston Bombing and the marathon runners who can no longer do what they love now that they are missing body parts. We mustn’t accept the status quo of war and terrorism and although “The Nose” was written almost 100 years and most likely wasn’t written on that premise it still reigns true. Another thought that kept reentering my mind was the Israeli invention the “ReWalk”. This device was invented to help disabled and paralyzed individuals regain their ability to walk with the use of a robotic exoskeleton that is motorized and connected to their nerve endings. So, although soldiers and victims who are injured never ultimately regain their “Nose”, through technological innovations they are able to return to our society with less of a struggle then before. Ultimately “The Nose” reminded me to appreciate what I have and never take anything for granted, because any given morning I can wake up and it could all change for the worse.