Six years ago, a shooter took two semi-automatic weapons to Sandy Hook and fatally shot twenty kindergarteners.

And we gave our thoughts and prayers. And said that we shouldn’t politicize this tragedy and that we should give time for the victim’s families to grieve.

And so we waited. We waited and waited and we’re still waiting for the right time to talk about how we can prevent this.

There have been over 200 school shootings since Sandy Hook. And we go through the same motions over and over again.

Thoughts and prayers.

Don’t politicize it.

Give time to grieve.

Rinse. Wash. Repeat.

For me at least, it almost became robotic.

Why get angry over something that won’t change? Because that is what it felt like. Why would getting angry and asking Congress to change work when they were willing to glaze over the death of 20 five-year-olds while quietly pocketing more money from the NRA?

So when the shooting in Florida occurred, I expected that we would go through the process again.

Thoughts and prayers.

Don’t politicize it.

Give time to grieve.

And move on to the next breaking headline story.

Rinse. Wash. And repeat.

But then Emma Gonzalez took the stage in Fort Lauderdale on Saturday and my breath was taken away.

She was intelligent in her argument, passionate in her message, and poised as she spoke to thousands about something extremely vulnerable. Something that I can confidently say that most of Congress and this administration lacks.

The students that survived the shooting in Parkland, Florida have renewed hope that change is possible.

That simply accepting the status quo is not an option we have to settle for. That it is possible to make a difference by being that difference yourself.

It is obvious Congress does not care. The administration does not care. The people that are supposed to protect us are incompetent and apathetic.

But that doesn’t mean we have to be.

I hope all of us who are either on the brink of graduating high school and about to taste a little bit of freedom and adulthood or the people like me that just entered college and are shocked at all the new opportunities know we matter. We are strong and important and that if we unite, our voice will be stronger and louder than the money exchanged by the NRA.

So I hope I see all of you during the March for Life as we go ahead and stand with Emma Gonzalez and all the survivors of the Parkland, Florida shooting.