Last week, the world saw two terrible tragedies occur back to back. On June 10th, it was the shooting and tragic death of The Voice's Christina Grimmie as she was signing autographs after her Orlando show. And then two days later, tragedy struck again when a gunman opened fire in the Orlando Pulse nightclub killing 49 people and injuring 53 others. These two horrible events had an intense effect on society, especially the latter. For the first few days after the nightclub shooting, people all over the country were not only in shock, but some were also afraid to do things they do on a daily basis because they didn't want to get shot. And I'm sure there are some people out there that are still afraid to do everyday things. But that's not the point of this article; I'm not here to point out the obvious and have an argument about guns. Instead, I want to share a little story of hope.

This past Friday, my dad and I went to see "The Lion King" on Broadway and I was amazed at the response the city had almost a week later. In the back of my mind, I expected the city to be a little different. I expected there to be a lingering aura of fear in the air and people still being extra cautious just in case, but what I found out to be reality made my heart swell. With the exception of the extra NYPD officers posted that were armed and ready to go, the city was still full of life the way it would have been if nothing had ever happened in Orlando. Times Square was still bustling with people, there were still street performers putting on shows in Midtown, and no one seemed worried that they would end their night in the hospital. I even found one of the Sing for Hope pianos by the food trucks in Times Square and saw someone playing it, not thinking of anything else except what she was doing.

Seeing all these things gave me so much hope for the future. There have been so many mass shootings this year in addition to the two that happened back to back in Orlando that people everywhere have adopted new traditions whenever they go places. Things, like locating all the exits in the room and figuring out the quickest way to get to the closest one, have become more normalized this year and that's a scary thing to think about. But all that aside, the fact that New York City is still able to exist in its usual form, so full of life and love, makes me believe that maybe everything won't fall to pieces, even in the face and aftermath of danger and tragedy.

I've always felt that New York was special, but seeing all the hope radiating from this city made me realize just how strong we can be as human beings. Yes, those two shootings didn't happen in New York, but we all know that it could very well happen in New York or any other city in any state in America. Seeing all the life that was still part of NYC made it crystal clear that we won't back down from living life the way we want to just because we're afraid something bad might happen. That's what the harmful people want, and if they get it then they win. There's always hope in every situation and New York City is a living example of that. I can now see, clear as day, that we're not giving up. We'll keep moving forward with our lives the way we want to and show the world how strong we really are. Hope is as alive as ever, and I've never been happier to see it.